The Boomer Esiason Foundation for people who have Cystic Fibrosis is now in the world of Second Life. So those with CF can now interact with each other and outsiders with out having to wear mask or worry about getting sick. Goto Esiason.com for more information and updates, also how you can get involved
8-year-old Quinn Anlauf feels good about participating in a clinical trial
If anyone knows any good web sites about cystic fibrosis can you let me know!! My bf just became diagnosed!
people who have cf were you in the hospital alot when you younger (like how many times a year and how long)
do any of you have B. cepacia?
i have cf im 15
Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease that affects certain glands in the body, including those responsible for producing mucus and sweat. It is an inherited disease, meaning that this disease is not contracted from some outside source but is rather the effect of an abnormality in some part of a person’s genes. This disorder is caused by the absence of a gene known as the cystic fibrosis trans-membrane conductance regulator.
This gene plays an important role in the creation of sweat, digestive juices, and mucus. CF has been known to affect the lungs, gastrointestinal tract, liver, and pancreas. In the lungs, cystic fibrosis causes overproduction of mucus, resulting in inflammation of the affected tissues. This leads to symptoms such as coughing, weakness, and excessive phlegm production. Eventually, bacteria take refuge in the thick mucus and begin to multiply, avoiding the body’s immune system thanks to the protection of the mucus, and lead to secondary infections such as pneumonia.
When it affects the digestive system, cystic fibrosis causes production of thickened secretions from the pancreas, which is responsible for producing important digestive enzymes. These thick secretions block the passage from the pancreas to the digestive tract, and also cause irreversible damage to the pancreas itself. The prevention of digestive enzymes from reaching the digestive tract leads to a lack of absorption of important minerals and nutrients from food, and can result in malnutrition.
Current Treatments for Cystic Fibrosis
Most current treatments for cystic fibrosis deal solely with the management of symptoms of the disease. Most of the treatments commonly used on patients are not cures, and simply help to remove mucus secretions and prevent bacterial infections from taking root in the lungs. Scientists have, however, come up with a new and revolutionary treatment that should be able to provide a lasting cure for this disorder when it is fully developed. This treatment is known as gene therapy.
Gene Therapy & Its Role in Treating Cystic Fibrosis
Since cystic fibrosis results from errors in the genes, scientists seek to correct those errors by replacing the erroneous genes in the affected cells with new, correct genes. This is known as gene therapy. The ideal solution is to be able to insert correct genes into all of the cells affected by the gene for cystic fibrosis. Scientists have discovered that it is extremely difficult to get affected cells to take up the modified genes, however, and thus treatments have thus far proven to be relatively ineffective.
New methods of delivering the corrected genes to the affected cells hold great promise, however, and various methods have already entered testing phases. Once scientists perfect the method of cystic fibrosis gene therapy, patients will then have a proper cure for the disease, as opposed to simply preventing the decline of organ function for as long as possible.
Gene therapy faces serious opposition from some sectors however; as there are people who believe that introducing any form of gene into the human body is unethical. Such protests have yet to have any effect on the progress of research into gene therapy methods, but there is the chance that the scientific community will have to deal with such accusations sometime in the future.
By: Didier De Coster
About the Author:
For quite some time now, the sweat test has remained as a gold standard for diagnosing cystic fibrosis. This test must always be conducted by experienced and accredited laboratory personnel in specific health centers that perform at least 50 sweat tests annually. The test needs to be repeated at least two times if diagnosis is not fully supported or confirmed by genotyping.
Sweat tests are usually performed in newborn infants a week after birth. Follow up tests could be conducted in the succeeding days. It should be a routine to perform the test in infants within 2 weeks after delivery if they weigh more than 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds).
In the procedure, sweat should immediately be collected within 30 minutes. Preferred sites for sweat collection are the forearm, chest, back, and thigh. The doctor would rub a minimal amount of sweat-producing solution on the target skin. A minor amount of electrical current would be applied to the skin patch to induce sweating. Do not worry about the pain because the procedure is guaranteed to not hurt significantly. It would only cause warm or tingling sensation. All the while, the skin patch would be covered with plastic and gauze for easy collection of sweat within 30 minutes. The sample of sweat taken would be immediately taken to the lab for testing.
Not all infants could be subjected to sweat testing. In particular, the test should be delayed or temporarily prevented in babies who are systematically unwell, underweight, and dehydrated. Infants with cutaneous rashes in the target simulation site should also be temporarily spared. There are cases wherein sweat tests yield false positive results. In those cases, patients could be under certain medications. That is the real reason why secondary or repeat sweat tests are recommended as well.
By: Didier De Coster
About the Author:
I read that cystic fibrosis is caused by a mutation of the CFTR gene, so even though the condition is inherited is it possible that the environment plays a role in developing CF? For example, would the presence of mutagens such as UV radiation affect the frequency of CFTR mutations in a population? You can probably tell I’m not really a biologist, so please explain as though you were explaining to a child 
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive disorder. If two phenotypically normal parents have a child with CF, what is the probability that their next child will be a phenotypically normal girl?
I have to do this project and i need to know a doctors office where i can get treatments for “my fake flour baby”…don’t ask… can i just use a regular doctor or do i have to look up a specialist? if so what is the specialist called?
Michael Marcus, MD .. www.TheDoctorsVideos.com .. Director Pediatric Allergy and Pulmonary -Maimonides Medical Center .. Fellowship Hospital of Philadelphia .. Castle Connolly Top Doctor
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