Cystic fibrosis
hideCystic fibrosis (also known as CF, mucovoidosis, or mucoviscidosis) is a genetic disorder known to be an inherited disease of the secretory glands, including the glands that make mucus and sweat.
The hallmarks of cystic fibrosis are salty tasting skin, normal appetite but poor growth and poor weight gain, excess mucus production, and coughing/shortness of breath. Males can be infertile due to the condition Congenital absence of the vas deferens. Often, symptoms of CF appear in infancy and childhood. Meconium ileus is a typical finding in newborn babies with CF.
Although technically a rare disease, cystic fibrosis is ranked as one of the most widespread life-shortening genetic diseases. It is most common among nations in the Western world; one in twenty-two people of Mediterranean descent is a carrier of one gene for CF, making it the most common genetic disease in these populations.[citation needed] An exception is Finland, where only one in 80 people carry a CF mutation. In the United States, 1 in 4,000 children are born with CF. In 1997, about 1 in 3,300 caucasian children in the United States was born with cystic fibrosis. In contrast, only 1 in 15,000 African American children suffered from cystic fibrosis, and in Asian Americans the rate was even lower at 1 in 32,000.
For more information about Cystic fibrosis, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with cystic fibrosis
Taking the Resistance Out of Drug-Resistant Infections
Apr 10, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- It started out as a research project focused on getting rid of harmful bacterial accumulations called biofilms. Now it has the potential to make conventional antibiotics work against stubborn, drug-resistant ...
Protein opens hope of treatment for cystic fibrosis patients
Sep 11, 2008 |
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Scientists have finally identified a direct role for the missing protein that leaves cystic fibrosis patients open to attack from lung-damaging bacteria, the main reason most of them die before their 35th birthday, scientists ...
Simulated gene therapy
Apr 29, 2009 |
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In a recent issue of The Journal of Chemical Physics, published by the American Institute of Physics (AIP), a group of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and Los Alamos National Laboratory describe the fi ...
Breakthrough in the fight against deadly superbug
Jul 17, 2008 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The week the government's chief medical officer for England, Sir Liam Donaldson, has announced that the NHS aims to create immunisation against two of the most common superbugs, MRSA and Clostridium ...
New approach to treating cystic fibrosis lung infection shows promise
Sep 22, 2008 |
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Researchers at the University of Calgary have found a new method of fighting severe lung infections in people with cystic fibrosis (CF). These findings are published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA, this w ...
Sugar on bacteria surface serves as base for a web of resistance
Apr 21, 2009 |
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The bacteria responsible for chronic infections in cystic fibrosis patients use one of the sugars on the germs' surface to start building a structure that helps the microbes resist efforts to kill them, new research shows.
'Disordered' amino acids may really be there to provide wiggle room for signaling protein
May 26, 2009 |
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Sections of proteins previously thought to be disordered may in fact have an unexpected biological role - providing certain proteins room to move -- according to a study published by researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center ...
Cystic fibrosis treatments may have unseen long-term benefits
Jul 16, 2009 |
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Cystic fibrosis medicines that help to break down mucus in the lungs may carry an unexpected long-term benefit, a study suggests.
New old drug fights colon cancer
Oct 13, 2009 |
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A new Tel Aviv University drug, based on an older generation antibiotic, may provide doctors with an effective and innovative method of treating colon cancer in both its incipient and full-blown stages -- and minimize the ...
Lung tissue generated from human embryonic stem cells
Nov 05, 2009 |
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Scientists in Belgium have successfully differentiated human embryonic stem cells (hESC) into major cell types of lung epithelial tissue using a convenient air-liquid interface. The technique, published in BioMed Central's ...
Antioxidant found in vegetables has implications for treating cystic fibrosis
Nov 16, 2009 |
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Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine discovered that a dietary antioxidant found in such vegetables as broccoli and cauliflower protects cells from damage caused by chemicals generated during the ...
No hiding place for infecting bacteria
Mar 16, 2009 |
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Scientists in Colorado have discovered a new approach to prevent bacterial infections from taking hold. Writing in the Journal of Medical Microbiology, Dr Quinn Parks and colleagues describe how they used enzymes against produc ...
The making of mucus in common lung diseases
Sep 14, 2009 |
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In the lung, mucus is produced by cells known as goblet cells, which are present in small numbers in the walls of the lungs and airways.
Breaking the 'mucus barrier' with a new drug delivery system
Aug 20, 2008 |
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Chemical engineers from Johns Hopkins University have broken the "mucus barrier," engineering the first drug-delivery particles capable of passing through human mucus — regarded by many as nearly impenetrable ...
Intervention in infants with cystic fibrosis key to slowing progression
Dec 05, 2008 |
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Early detection of lung disease in cystic fibrosis (CF), combined with aggressive treatment in infants, may be the key to controlling the progression of the disease, according to a recent study. New research shows that contrary ...
