Cystic Fibrosis

• What is cystic fibrosis?
• What are other names for cystic fibrosis?
• What causes cystic fibrosis?
• Who is at risk for cystic fibrosis?
• What are the signs and symptoms of cystic fibrosis?
• How is cystic fibrosis diagnosed?
• How is cystic fibrosis treated?
• Living with cystic fibrosis
• Cystic Fibrosis At A Glance

What is cystic fibrosis?

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an inherited disease of your mucus and sweat glands. It affects mostly your lungs, pancreas, liver, intestines, sinuses, and sex organs.

Normally, mucus is watery. It keeps the linings of certain organs moist and prevents them from drying out or getting infected. But in CF, an abnormal gene causes mucus to become thick and sticky.

The mucus builds up in your lungs and blocks the airways. This makes it easy for bacteria to grow and leads to repeated serious lung infections. Over time, these infections can cause serious damage to your lungs.

The thick, sticky mucus can also block tubes, or ducts, in your pancreas. As a result, digestive enzymes that are produced by your pancreas cannot reach your small intestine. These enzymes help break down the food that you eat. Without them, your intestines cannot absorb fats and proteins fully.

As a result:

• Nutrients leave your body unused, and you can become malnourished.
  
  
• Your stools become bulky.
  
  
• You may not get enough vitamins A, D, E, and K .
  
  
• You may have intestinal gas, a swollen belly, and pain or discomfort.

The abnormal gene also causes your sweat to become extremely salty. As a result, when you perspire, your body loses large amounts of salt. This can upset the balance of minerals in your blood. The imbalance may cause you to have a heat emergency.

CF can also cause infertility (mostly in men).

The symptoms and severity of CF vary from person to person. Some people with CF have serious lung and digestive problems. Other people have more mild disease that doesn't show up until they are adolescents or young adults.

Respiratory failure is the most common cause of death in people with CF.

Until the 1980s, most deaths from CF occurred in children and teenagers. Today, with improved treatments, people with CF live, on average, to be more than 35 years old. Research continues to look for:

• Better treatments
  
  
• A cure

From the Doctors at MedicineNet.com

Chest X-ray - A chest x-ray is a radiology test that involves exposing the chest briefly to radiation to produce an image of the chest and the internal organs of the chest. chest x-ray can be used to define abnormalities of the lungs such as excessive fluid, pneumonia, bronchitis, asthma, cysts, and cancers. Source:MedicineNet Amniocentesis - Learn about amniocentesis, a procedure that examines the chromosomes of the fetus to determine lung maturity, and the possiblities of birth defects. Source:MedicineNet Bronchoscopy - Read about bronchoscopy, a procedure used to view a patient's lung, airways, voice box, vocal cord, trachea, and many branches of bronchi. There are two types of bronchoscopes, flexible fiberoptic and rigid. Source:MedicineNet Read 99 more Cystic Fibrosis related articles ... Researchers Develop Pig Model for Cystic Fibrosis Steno 'Superbug' Genome Shows Extreme Drug Resistance Experimental Drug Shows Early Promise Against Cystic Fibrosis Study Points to New Treatments for Polycystic Kidney Disease Garden Fungus Kills British Man Elavil for Cystic Fibrosis? Autism Cause: Brain Development Genes? Genetic Disorder May Hold Key to Heat Stroke Cure Experts Release New Cystic Fibrosis Guidelines Ibuprofen May Aid Cystic Fibrosis Lungs