Cystic Fibrosis

What is Cystic Fibrosis?

Cystic Fibrosis is a disorder that affects the exocrine glands. It is which will cause the production of abnormally thick mucus that will lead to blockage of the pancreatic ducts, intestines, and bronchi. It is often occur in the respiratory infection.

What causes cystic fibrosis?

Cystic fibrosis is caused by cystic fibrosis trans membrane conductance regulator (CFTR), which it is an important function in creating sweat, mucus, and digestive juices. It is a disease that one can only get it if his or her parents both are carriers of it. A child must inherit two copies of the defective gene in order to have CF and the chances of getting it is 25% and 50% for only one of the parent getting the gene.

Who gets cystic fibrosis?

Around the world, about 1 in 4,000 children in United States are born with CF and 30,000 children and adults are living with it. People in the Mediterranean at least 1 in 22 people carried one gene of the CF disease.

How is Cystic Fibrosis treated?

Cystic fibrosis has no cure but the aims of treatment are to try to decrease the number of the symptoms and to prevent the development of complications. A key treatment is aim to maintain a healthy weight gain in children and to minimise the severity of chest infections. The treatment needed to be continued for life to help limit lung damage and infection of CF.

Treatment for Cystic Fibrosis

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  Prevent and control infections in your lungs


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  Loosen and remove the thick, sticky mucus from your lungs


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  Prevent blockages in your intestines


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  Provide adequate nutrition

What are the symptoms of cystic fibrosis?

People with cystic fibrosis look like everybody else but it produce thick sticky mucus from many of the glands throughout the body. The thick mucus damages the pancreas before birth, so that people with CF must take pancreatic enzyme capsules.

Some of the common symptoms are:

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  Skin that tastes very salty


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  Persistent coughing, often with phlegm or extra mucus


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  Frequent lung infections


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  Shortness of breath


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  Little weight gain and poor growth


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  Trouble with defecation


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  Nasal  polyps - small, fleshy growths in the nose

Cystic fibrosis is also associated with several other symptomatic diseases and conditions. Which it include variety of lung diseases and infections, problems with the gastrointestinal system such as blockages and malabsorption and diabetes

How is cystic fibrosis diagnosed?

Cystic Fibrosis diagnoses occur, when it is just after the birth of a baby occurs. It is a part of a newborn screening. In additional, doctor will continue and confirm with the sweat test or genetic test that will conduct if the newborn baby have the to diagnosis of cystic fibrosis.

Who Discovered Cystic Fibrosis?

Dr Anderson discovered a recessive mutant gene caused cystic fibrosis in 1949. It was diagnosed then as genetic disease improvements that are being made each year in treatments for this incurable disease.

How common is it?

Cystic fibrosis is the most common genetic disease in Australians. It occurs in 1 in 2,500 births.

How do you know if you have cystic fibrosis?

In most States in Australia, all of the newborn babies are tested for cystic fibrosis as a part of the blood test routine.

What happens to people with cystic fibrosis?

In Australia, people with cystic fibrosis unfortunately die at an earlier age due to progressive lung infection, which ultimately leads to respiratory failure and death.

Facts

Cystic fibrosis is one of the best-understood human genetic diseases.Research into cystic fibrosis is likely to involve a remedy for the basic problem in the mucus producing glands of the body. Cystic Fibrosis treatments will enable people with CF to live longer and more productive lives,