Cystic Fibrosis News and Research

Latest Cystic Fibrosis News and Research

Call for halt to human gene editing and designer babies experiments

Powerful gene editing tools could soon face a global regulations on their use on human embryos, sperms or eggs.

18 Mar 2019

Researchers develop new way to analyze mucus binding

The human body is full of mucus. This viscous goo isn't just a nuisance that gets coughed up or sneezed out -- it can bind to drugs, toxins or microbes, potentially impacting human health. However, relatively little is known about such interactions.

14 Mar 2019

Microbes causing cystic fibrosis change rapidly within 2-3 years after first infection

A new study, recently published in Nature Communications, has looked at infections in Danish youth with CF over a period of 10 years. This is the largest longitudinal study to date of the evolution - both involving traits and genes - of the disease-causing microbes that persistently infect young CF-patients.

5 Mar 2019

Paying more attention to antibiotic dosing could improve clinical outcomes for CF patients

Children and young adults with cystic fibrosis (CF) whose lung infections were treated with suboptimal doses of antibiotics had fewer changes in lung microbial diversity during the IV treatment, and their microbial diversity levels were higher 30 days later, a multi-institutional study that includes Children's researchers shows.

23 Feb 2019

New blood test detects genetic disorders in fetuses

Tel Aviv University researchers have developed a new blood test for genetic disorders that may allow parents to learn about the health of their baby as early as 11 weeks into pregnancy.

21 Feb 2019

Unique gene therapy approach paves new way to tackle rare, inherited diseases

Nonsense mutations are single-letter errors in the genetic code that prematurely halt the production of critical proteins. These unfinished proteins are unable to function normally, and nonsense mutations cause 10-15 percent of all inherited genetic diseases, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy, spinal muscular atrophy, cystic fibrosis and polycystic kidney disease.

19 Feb 2019

New method detects potentially disease-causing forms of proteins using fluorescence

A new method uses fluorescence to detect potentially disease-causing forms of proteins as they unravel due to stress or mutations.

14 Feb 2019

Study uncovers new clues to lung transplant rejection

A lung transplant often remains the only option for many patients with end-stage lung disease, a condition that can be brought on by emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis and other lung disorders.

4 Feb 2019

New clinical practice guideline on home oxygen therapy for children

The American Thoracic Society has developed a new clinical practice guideline for home oxygen therapy for children. The guideline appears in the Feb. 1 edition of the Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

4 Feb 2019

Discovery of proteins that control mucin secretion reveals clues to treating colon, airway diseases

Cells produce mucins at a constant rate, and when exposed to an allergen or pathogen, they produce more mucin in a rapid burst. Both the constant and rapid mucin secretion is controlled by calcium.

1 Feb 2019

Combination of cystic fibrosis drugs found to be safe and effective in children aged 2-5 years

An open label Phase 3 study conducted at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and other centers established that a combination of cystic fibrosis drugs lumacaftor and ivacaftor is safe and effective in children aged 2-5 years, whose disease is caused by two copies of F508del-CFTR gene mutation - the most common and severe form of cystic fibrosis.

25 Jan 2019

Scientists explore bacterial immunity to better understand infectious disease

Patients with cystic fibrosis are often infected by pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium that infects the lungs and prevents breathing, often causing death.

8 Jan 2019

Inhalable mRNA offers hope for patients with lung disease

Scientists have reported the success of an inhalable mRNA therapy that can induce the production of a target protein in the lungs of mice.

4 Jan 2019

Scientists discover new biomarkers for early detection of cystic fibrosis

Scientists at McMaster University have discovered several new biomarkers from a single drop of blood that could allow earlier and more definitive detection of cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease which strikes both children and adults, causing chronic problems with the digestive system and the lungs.

20 Dec 2018

Researchers identify link between mucus in the small airways and pulmonary fibrosis

A team of investigators led by members of the University of Colorado School of Medicine faculty at CU Anschutz Medical Campus has identified a connection between mucus in the small airways and pulmonary fibrosis.

18 Dec 2018

Blood test helps identify distinct molecular signatures in children with cystic fibrosis

Researchers at Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, and colleagues, used a blood test and microarray technology to identify distinct molecular signatures in children with cystic fibrosis.

12 Dec 2018