What is Cystic Fibrosis?

Cystic Fibrosis is a chronic genetic

disease that affects the liver, pancreas
and mostly the lungs. It causes thick
mucus to build up and stick to some of
the organs in the body. It clogs the
lungs and leads to life threatening lung
infections. It affects the respiratory,
digestive and reproductive systems.

Cystic Fibrosis affects about 30,000
people in the Unites States and about
70,000 worldwide.

Statistics

1,000 new cases of Cystic Fibrosis are
diagnosed each year.
More the 70% of patients are
diagnosed by age 2.
More that 45% of the cystic fibrosis
patient population is age 18 or older.
In the United States 1 in 4,000
children are born with it.
Approximately 1 in 25 people of
European descent have cystic fibrosis
The predicted median age of survival
for a person with cystic fibrosis is in
the late 30s.
Cystic Fibrosis is most common in
Caucasians but it can affect all races.
Diagnosis of Cystic Fibrosis

Most people who have Cystic Fibrosis
are diagnosed at birth by newborn
screening or before the age of 2. The
most common test used to diagnose
cystic fibrosis is the sweat test. During
the sweat test a small electrode is
placed on the skin to stimulate the
sweat glands. Then the amount of
chloride is measured. A high level of
chloride means that the person has
Cystic Fibrosis.

What Causes Cystic Fibrosis?

Cystic Fibrosis is a disease that is
inherited. To have Cystic Fibrosis, a
person must inherit two copies of the
defective CF gene, one copy from each
parent. The carrier, though only has 1
copy of the CF gene mutation. This
means that they do not have the disease
themselves.


Treatment

The treatments used for Cystic Fibrosis
have improved greatly in recent years.

Treatments for Cystic Fibrosis include: