Human genome editing has been increasingly explored to determine if it can be used to eradicate genetic diseases like sickle cell disease, but it has also been surrounded by a wide variety of ethical dilemmas. The purpose of this review was to conduct a scoping review of the ethics of therapeutic human genome editing in terms of philosophy, theology, public perspectives, and research ethics. A systemized search of PubMed, Embase, Ovid MEDLINE, and Web of Science was conducted. The initial search resulted in 4,445 articles, and after removing 1,750 duplicates and screening the remaining 2,695 articles, 27 final articles were selected for the final analysis. From a philosophical and theological standpoint, therapeutic human genome editing was generally ethically acceptable. Worldwide public perspectives were also in agreement except for the Oceanic region, which disagreed mainly due to the possible effects on future generations. Lastly, human research ethics revealed that women were not always included in informed consent, and that child autonomy needs to be preserved. Further research is needed to determine adverse effects on the mother, fetus, and future generations.
The most common etiology of low back and neck pain is associated with spinal cord pathologies. Regardless of origin, low back and neck pain are some of the most common causes of disability worldwide. Mechanical compression due to spinal cord diseases, such as degenerative disc disorders, can lead to radiculopathy, which manifests as numbness or tingling and can progress to loss of muscle function. Conservative management, such as physical therapy, has not been proven effective in treating radiculopathy, and surgical treatments have more risks than benefits for most patients. Epidural disease-modifying medications, such as Etanercept, have been recently explored due to their minimal invasiveness and direct effects on inhibiting tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Therefore, this literature review aims to evaluate epidural Etanercept's effect on radiculopathy caused by degenerative disc diseases. Epidural Etanercept has been shown to improve radiculopathy in patients with lumbar disc degeneration, spinal stenosis, and sciatica. Further research is needed to compare the effectiveness of Etanercept with commonly used treatments such as steroids and analgesia.
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