Cystic Fibrosis

Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic disease that affects many people in the United States. This disease is an incurable hereditary disease that affects the body in many ways, most noticeably the breathing of a patient. There are an estimated ten million Americans that are carriers of Cystic Fibrosis that show no symptoms of the disease whatsoever. This disease occurs in about 1 in every 3,900 births in American children. It is caused by a defect in a gene on chromosome seven. This gene is normally used to produce a protein that allows the correct amount of salt and water to combine with the mucus. Since this gene has mutated, the salt and water does not combine with the mucus and therefore it becomes very sticky and thick. This disease is hard on patients and causes them difficulties throughout there lives. Hopefully, research will soon make it possible to be cured.

Cystic Fibrosis most prominently affects the endocrine system and the respiratory system. The mucus produced by the body is very sticky and thick and this makes it hard to breathe and the mucus can often clog airways. Cystic Fibrosis also causes the sweat that the body secretes as well as the urine to be abnormally salty. The pancreas is also affected by this disease. It does not produce the enzymes that it normally does and therefore the body cannot digest all the food properly. This causes a certain degree of malnourishment, even though many individuals with the disease have very ravenous appetites. This can be overcome by taking enzyme pills which replace the enzymes that the pancreas does not produce. The stool of the affected individuals may be very thick and have a pale or gray color to them. This is caused by the lack of enzymes produced by the pancreas. These body systems are greatly affected by this disease, yet some treatments can help with them.