NN+Cystic+Fibrosis

WHAT IS CYSTIC FIBROSIS?

 * Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is where a defective gene causes the epithelium to produce an unusually thick and sticky mucus that blocks up the lungs and blocks the pancreas and prevents enzymes from helping the body digest food.
 * CF can lead to several diseases such as Ralstonia Species infection
 * CF is an inherited genetic disorder

SYMPTOMS OF CYSTIC FIBROSIS

 * overly salty sweat
 * constant coughing (may include phlegm)
 * wheezing/restricted breathing
 * stunted growth
 * not able to gain weight or grow normally even though the person eats normal amounts of food
 * difficult bowel movements
 * fatigue
 * nasal polyps (where a person has small tissue growths in the nasal passage)
 * people with CF often develop other diseases such as:
 * lung infections
 * lung infections are frequent because the body is not able to clear the bacteria out of the body
 * sinus infections
 * pneumonia
 * diabetes
 * meconium ileus
 * where the meconium in a newborn is unusually thick, obstructing the bowel as opposed to passing through the bowel
 * resulting in immediate surgery

WHAT CAN BE DONE FOR PEOPLE WITH CF?

 * lung transplants
 * airway clearance techniques (ACT)
 * people will try to dislodge the mucus in the lungs through techniques such as hitting their chest or breathing into machines that help to loosen the mucus, resulting in a clearer passage for the air to go to and from the lungs.
 * therapy vests are also being used. Therapy vests shake the person to help loosen the mucus
 * antibiotics
 * Bronchodilator drugs
 * relaxes the muscles around the airways to help make breathing easier
 * steroids to help decrease airway inflammation
 * inhalers
 * exercise
 * exercise helps to loosen the mucus in the lungs
 * some people take enzymes through the mouth to help them digest and utilize the nutrients they eat.
 * "In the 1950s, few children with cystic fibrosis lived to attend elementary school." ([|http://www.cff.org/AboutCF/)] Today, however, people with CF can live beyond their forties.

STATISTICS

 * 30,000 people in the USA have CF
 * "Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common, fatal genetic disease affecting young Canadians" ([|http://www.cysticfibrosis.ca/page.asp?id=1)]

REFERENCES http://www.cff.org http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol8no7/01-0472.htm http://www.cysticfibrosis.ca/page.asp?id=1 http://www.kidshealth.org/teen/diseases_conditions/digestive/cystic_fibrosis.html http://www.cysticfibrosis.org.au/aboutcf/