cystic fibrosis…

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clubbing, postural drainage, clubbed fingers, cystic fibrosis, cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease that causes, thick, sticky mucus to build up, in the lungs and digestive tract, the most common type of chronic lung disease in children, young adults, and may result in early death, , cystic fibrosis, cf, is caused by a defective gene which tells the body to produce abnormally thick, sticky fluid, mucus, mucus builds up, in the breathing passages, the lungs, pancreas, organ that helps to break, absorb food, collection of sticky mucus results in life-threatening lung infections, serious digestion problems, affect the sweat glands, a man's reproductive system, millions of americans carry the defective cf gene, not have any symptoms, cf must inherit two defective cf genes, one from each parent, an estimated 3% to 10% of caucasians have the cf gene, most common, deadly, inherited disorder affecting caucasians, more common among those of northern, central european descent, most children, diagnosed, cf by 1st birthday, a small number, not diagnosed, age 18, older, patients, have a milder form, more than mutations, the cf gene, symptoms differ from person to person, in general they, no bowel movements in first 24 to 48 hours of life, stools, pale, clay colored, foul smelling, or that float, infants, have salty-tasting skin, recurrent respiratory infections, pneumonia, sinusitis, coughing, wheezing, weight loss, failure to gain weight, in childhood, diarrhea, delayed growth, fatigue, food, drug administration approved the first dna-based blood test to help detect cf, test looks, variations, gene known to cause the disease, tests use to diagnose cf, sweat chloride test, the standard diagnostic test, cf, a high salt level, in the patient's sweat indicates the disease, fecal fat test, upper gi, small bowel series, measurement of pancreatic function, cystic fibrosis may alter the results, tests, trypsin, chymotrypsin in stool, secretin stimulation test, chest x-ray, ct scan, lung function tests, an early diagnosis of cf, a comprehensive treatment plan, improve both survival, quality of life, specialty clinics, cystic fibrosis helpful, found in many communities, treatment includes, antibiotics, respiratory infections, pancreatic enzymes to replace those, missing, vitamin supplements, vitamins a, d, e, k, inhaled bronchodilators, albuterol, proventil, ventolin, help open the airways, dnase enzyme replacement therapy, medication dornase, pulmozyme, contains an enzyme that thins the mucus, makes it easier to cough up, pain relievers, research has shown that the pain reliever ibuprofen, slow lung deterioration, children, cystic fibrosis, results were most dramatic in children ages 5 to 13, postural drainage, chest percussion, lung transplant considered , cystic fibrosis support group, disease registries now show that 40% of patients, cystic fibrosis, over age 18, average life span, who live to adulthood is approximately 35 years, a dramatic increase over the last three decades, death, lung complications, most common complications, chronic respiratory infections, pneumonia, recurrent, pneumothorax, coughing up blood, chronic respiratory failure, cor pulmonale, liver disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, symptoms develop that suggest an infant, child, have cystic fibrosis, cystic fibrosis develops new symptoms, particularly severe breathing difficulty, coughing up blood, prevent cystic fibrosis, screening of family members of a cystic fibrosis patient, detect the cystic fibrosis gene in between 60, 90% of carriers, depending on the test used, first dna-based test, cystic fibrosis foundation