Cystic Fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis, CF, is a genetic disease of the exocrine glands (Cystic Fibrosis) that affects approximately thirty thousand children and adults in the United States (Facts About CF). The median survival is twenty five years in females and thirty years in males (Cystic Fibrosis)

Some symptoms of CF include a distended abdomen, diarrhea, foul-smelling stools, malnutrition even though a healthy diet is instituted, nasal polyps, sinus disease, repeated respiratory disease, infertility, liver disease and diabetes (Cystic Fibrosis).

The symptoms of CF are caused by the genetic abnormality in the transmembrane conductance regulator gene that causes the disruption of chloride transfer across cell membranes. Because of this, chloride ions build up inside the cells of the lungs and other organs. Water remains inside the cells to dilute this excess rather than being drawn out of the cell by normal chloride movement, so the normal secretions of the organs thicken. Eventually, mucus is so thick that it blocks the ducts of the exocrine glands and