Cystic Fibrosis

The disease Cystic Fibrosis was discovered in the 19th century. It mostly affects the lungs and the digestive system. The symptoms one may get when the have this rare disease may be, very salty skin, persistent coughing at times with phlegm, frequent lung infections, wheezing or shortness or breath, poor growth/weight gain in spite of good appetite, and frequent, bulky stools or difficult in bowel movements. This disease obstructs the pancreas and stops natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food. It also clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections. There is no known treatment for this disease, but a good lifestyle and good nutrition may help out a lot. The mortality for the disease is 30-40s. 37 is the predicted median for the patients age. The disease has hit 30, 000 children and adults in the United States and 70, 000 people worldwide. Most children and adolescents are vulnerable to this disease. The genes of this disease are mutated. The majority of the patients are diagnosed at the age of two. About 1, 000 new cases of this disease are found each year.

This disease makes me feel sad. I feel sad due to the fact that there is no known cure for it yet. The patients go through hard times from this disease and they cannot do anything about it other than live a good lifestyle. I feel that doctors and scientists should work their hardest to find a cure because this disease though rare, affects many people around the world today.

http://www.cff.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cystic_fibrosis