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Cystic Fibrosis Research Paper

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Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disorder that causes severe damage to the lungs and digestive system. This disorder is among over 70,000 people worldwide, and about 30,000 just in the United States alone. Nearly half of the Cystic Fibrosis population is age 18 or older, and are normally diagnosed by age 2. Though Cystic fibrosis is a complex disease and the types and severity of symptoms can differ widely from person to person. Many different factors, such as age of diagnosis, can affect an individual's health and the course of the disease. Today the median survival age for having this disorder is close to 40 years old. To most that might seem very young, but this is a huge improvement from what it was in past years. New advances in technology makes it possible for people with this disorder to …show more content…

Unfortunately, even with the new advances in technology there is still no cure. The type of mutation that causes Cystic Fibrosis occurs in the CFTR gene, or Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator gene. This gene is important to the body because it helps provide channels that transport negatively charged particles (chloride ions) in and out of the cell. Chloride has an important role in the human body by how it controls the movement of water in tissue, which allows mucus to become thin. Mutations in the CFTR gene interrupts the function of the chloride channels. It makes the regulating process of the flow of chloride ions and water across the cell membranes not happen. This causes passageways to produce mucus that is very thick. The thick mucus causes these passageways to clog, and trap

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