questions on gene therapy in brain - (Feb/20/2010 )

My questions are:

Is non viral gene therapy effective enough to be used on the brain right now or would it not be effective enough (Regardless of what the viral gene therapy is being used for; adding an extra copy of a gene, etc and regardless of what type of virus is being used)
What negative health effects etc can occur from viral gene therapy being used on a human brain (Regardless of what the viral gene therapy is being used for; adding an extra copy of a gene, etc and regardless of what type of virus is being used)
what are the odds of those negative health effects occuring in the person from viral gene therapy being used on their brain? (Regardless of what the viral gene therapy is being used for; adding an extra copy of a gene, etc and regarldess of what type of virus is being used)

thank u! Would really appreciate it

Non-viral gene therapy is not advanced as compared to viral mediated gene transfer. But ofcourse it is context dependent.

There are few trials with AAV in humans. We donot know the longterm effects for these treatments. Again one has to weigh the options.

Initially AAV trials were suspended due to safety concerns in children. It seems to be re evaluated again and coming back in trials.