Layla Richards became first leukemia baby to be cured by gene modification

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Layla Richards is a one-year old British baby who has survived aggressive leukemia. According to BBC, she was treated with "designer immune cells" by doctors from Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) to battle her condition. The treatment was succesful as she improved through the treatment whereas chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant did not.

Layla's doctors had lost hope when she did not respond to common cancer treatments. Her condition happens in young babies and she was only three months old when she got diagnosed with leukemia.

Layla's parents, however, were adamant to not give up so they asked doctors to find ways that could give their daughter more chances.

"I didn't want to go down that road, I'd rather that she tried something new and I took the gamble," Layla's dad, Ashleigh Richards told the outlet. "And this is her today standing laughing and giggling, she was so weak before this treatment, it was horrible and I'm just thankful for this opportunity."

The "designer immune cells" were created using a new gene-editing approach or "molecular scissors" to command the immune cells to attack leukemia. This experiment was only ever done on lab mice so a meeting was called to get the treatment approved, Independent reports.

The baby was given the only vial left of tje treatment.The improvement on Layla using the treatment according to the doctors was "staggering" and "miraculous." Her only side effect was a rash but it is too soon to tell if Layla has been totally cured.

"He said that the consultants had been in with results of the treatment and told me to sit down," said Layla's mother, Lisa Foley, referring to Richards. "I thought it was bad news but then he said, 'It's worked,' and I just cried happy tears.

"Even though she is well at the moment, we still don't know what the future holds," she explained. "She will still have monthly bone marrow checks for now and might be on some medicines for the rest of her life."

According to the experts, further research needs to be done before it can be said that the treatment can be used on children.

"We have only used this treatment on one very strong little girl, and we have to be cautious about claiming this will be a suitable treatment option for all children," said Waseem Qasim, consultant immunologist at the hospital, via The Guardian. "But this is a landmark in the use of new gene engineering technology and the effects for this child have been staggering."