Essay about Cystic Fibrosis

Nearly 1 in every 30 Americans are a carrier of the recessive gene that leads to CF (About Cystic Fibrosis, n.d.). Although CF is a life-threatening condition, through the advancement of treatments and care, there has been a steady increase in life expectancy and improvement in the quality of life. The current mean age of survival is now 40. Although that does not seem very high, sixty years ago, a child diagnosed with CF did not survive childhood (About Cystic Fibrosis, n.d.). CF is a complex disease, where the types and severity of symptoms can differ widely from person to person. Symptoms may include fatigue, salty-tasting skin, persistent cough with phlegm, wheezing and shortness of breath, lung infections, and poor growth and weight loss (Cystic Fibrosis Symptoms, Causes & Risk Factors, 2018). Many different factors, such as the age of diagnosis, can affect an individual's health and the course of the

They are also accompanied by many medicines and other treatments to help them with the comfort of cystic fibrosis.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a lethal autosomal recessive disorder with a clinical incidence of 1 in every 3500 newborns1. Currently, over 4000 Canadians have CF, with 60% being adults2. In the past, CF was considered a fatal disease with a life expectancy of less than two years, however, advances in enzymatic and antibiotic therapy have greatly improved the life expectancy of patients afflicted with CF3. Currently, the median age of Canadian CF patients is 50 years2.

A widely accepted Caucasian disease has since changed; as cases of its existence are appearing in the South Asian Population (Orenstein, Rosenstein and Stern, 2000). First discovered in 1989, Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a genetically predetermined condition, its presences is lifelong and highly complex, which is why many CF sufferers and families develop various mechanisms in order to adapt to the condition (Tippingemail, Scholes, Cox, 2010). Cystic Fibrosis causes the body to develop thick, sticky mucus which clogs the lungs and affects other organs in the body, mainly the pancreas. The layer of mucus if untreated develops in to a chronic infection which can be detrimental. The pancreas of a CF patient is most vulnerable, once the mucus has

Cystic Fibrosis is a disorder where the exocrine glands secrete abnormally thick mucus, leading to obstruction of the pancreas and chronic infections of the lungs, which usually cause death in childhood or early adulthood. Some mildly affected patients may survive longer. Doctors can diagnose the disease by testing the patients perspiration because people with Cystic Fibrosis have high amounts of salt in their perspiration. Those with respiratory infections are treated with antibiotics, with aerosols that relieve constriction of the airways and liquefy the thick mucus, and by physical therapy to help patients cough up the obstructing secretions. Patients with pancreatic insufficiency can take pancreatic enzymes with meals.

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder in which mucus glands produce abnormally thick secretions. These secretions can lead to chronic infections of the lungs and eventually lead to obstruction of the pancreas, resulting in digestive enzyme deficiency, the liver is also sometimes affected. Secretions from the sweat and salivary glands of a CF patient frequently contain abnormally high amounts of sodium and chloride. Because the body produces a high amount of salt, a sweat test is generally used to diagnose the disorder.

Cystic Fibrosis, also known as CF, is one of the most common life-threatening genetic disorders found in people. Discovered in 1938 by Dr. Dorothy Hansine Andersen, Cystic Fibrosis severely affects two parts of the human body, including the respiratory system and the digestive system. Cystic Fibrosis causes the mucus glands to secrete very thick and sticky mucus. This mucus then clogs the tiny air passages and traps bacteria in the lungs. The thick mucus also stops the release of digestive enzymes in the pancreas from reaching the small intestine. According to Cystic Fibrosis Queensland (2015) more than one million Australians carry the Cystic Fibrosis Gene, with one in every 25 people, often not realising they are carrying the deadly gene.

CF mainly affects the pancreas. In CF, mucus can block tubes, or ducts in your

CF is found in nearly one of every three-thousand live births. But more than eighty percent of the patients are diagnosed by age three. Today, nearly forty percent of the diagnosed inhabitants are at the age of eight-teen or older.

This mucus build up also causes wheezing and difficulty breathing. Recently, it has become more common for individuals with cystic fibrosis to receive lung transplants during the end stages of lung disease. As mentioned, the symptoms of cystic fibrosis are life threatening, and the majority of deaths are the result of respiratory failure after battling lung diseases and infections that come as a result of the mucus build up. The life expectancy for an individual with cystic fibrosis ranges in the mid-thirties. Another symptom that comes as a result of cystic fibrosis is digestive issues. The thick mucus that affects the respiratory tract also often blocks the tubes that are crucial to digestion because they carry digestive enzymes. Without these digestive enzymes being transported to the small intestine, individuals with cystic fibrosis cannot fully absorb the nutrients they eat. These digestive issues lead to reduced weight gain and growth in individuals with cystic fibrosis as well as severe constipation. In some cases, the large intestine may begin to protrude, a symptom referred to as rectal prolapse, and may need to

Cystic Fibrosis affects 1 in every 2,500 children at birth. (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) Cystic Fibrosis, or CF, is a genetic disorder. A genetic disorder is inherited, and is contributed to by both parents. (lung.org) Each parent has one abnormal gene. (lung.org) Cystic Fibrosis is where the body can not make, or it makes an abnormal version of the CFTR protein. CFTR is also known as cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator. There are several symptoms, and causes of Cystic Fibrosis. These symptoms are diagnosed, according to what causes CF. Cystic Fibrosis is an inherited disease, that when after diagnosed, doctors will suggest treatments to help with the condition. Cystic Fibrosis is most common in white infants, but can

“About 1 in 4,000 children in the United States are born with CF” (Crosta, 2009) and “one in every 3,600 children born in Canada [have] cystic fibrosis” ("Cystic fibrosis Canada," 2011). According to several resources a consensus has formed which proposes that people with northern European ancestry, specifically those that are white, are more likely to be carriers of the disease and thus more at risk of having children with the mutated gene. This risk is even more likely if the other parent of the child is a carrier. Another risk factor for CF is “family history, since the disease is hereditary it increases they likely hood of

Cystic Fibrosis, a very serious inherited genetic disease, is also known as CF and sixty-five roses. This disease affects one in every 3,000 live births. It may first appear in a newborn, but can appear all the way up until a young adult. However, ten percent of most cases are apparent at birth. CF affects the lungs and causes a build-up of abnormally thick mucus which leads to chest infections, and CF also affects the reproductive system. Doctors do not know what causes the mucus to thicken. CF’s infections usually lead to death in childhood and early adulthood. Most people infected with CF had a life span into their teens long ago. Now, due to advanced technology, the life span is in the fifties or older.

In the respiratory system, the mucus causes breathing difficulties, frequent respiratory infections and eventually permanent lung damage. The mucus builds up providing bacteria with a place to flourish. The most common infection comes from a bacterium called Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The body's response to P. aeruginosa includes inflammation, which causes episodes of intense breathing problems (Pseudomonas Genome Project, 1998). Normally the body will get rid of excess mucus by coughing before it's a problem but with the thick mucus involved in CF the body has a harder time to get rid of the thicker mucus. Lung disease is the usual cause of death in most patients (National Institutes of Health, 1995). In the digestive system, mucus can block the supply of enzymes used to break down food. The result of the blockage of such enzymes is malnutrition. The patient will have an excessive appetite but will not experience any weight gain. What is also evident is a failure to grow, CF was often misdiagnosed vaguely as "failure to thrive" when physicians didn't know the reason for this poor growth. Sweating is also a problem in people with CF. One of the basic defects in CF is the faulty transport of sodium and chloride (salt). People with CF lose excessive amounts of salt when they sweat. This causes the natural balance of salt in the body to be off balance, which may cause abnormal heart rhythms (National Institutes of Health, 1995).

Cystic Fibrosis is a disease that affects the body in many ways throughout the patient's life. Newborns with Cystic Fibrosis may experience delayed growth, inability to gain weight, and salty-tasting skin ("Cystic," umm.edu 1). Older patients may be infertile, have recurring pancreatitis, and respiratory problems ("Cystic," umm.edu 2). Considering that these are just symptoms involving age, the full spectrum of ailments that afflict a patient with Cystic Fibrosis is far more taxing on a patient.