Keep your family safe from germs and bacteria
Cystic fibrosis – getting up to date
At the moment only 20% of babies in the UK are screened at birth for cystic fibrosis but this will change as universal testing for newborns is introduced across the country this year. CF affects approximately 7,500 people in the UK who have a life expectancy of about 30 years. Most children are only tested if they show signs or symptoms of the disease but an early screening programme would mean that doctors could treat babies with cystic fibrosis, prevent their lung function deteriorating and improve their quality of life.
The chances of having the disease
Even if there’s no family history of Cystic Fibrosis (CF) you still have a 1 in 2500 chance of having a child with CF. This may not sound high, but it’s the equivalent of 25 people watching a football match at a packed Old Trafford stadium.
Unfortunately, the disease is inherited. It’s in our genes, in groups of chromosomes and the gene for CF is found on chromosome number 7. We inherit half our genes from our mothers and the other half from our fathers. To develop CF we need to inherit one gene coding for CF from our mother and another from our father. In other words two CF genes are needed for the illness to develop. If we just have one CF gene (a faulty gene from our mother but a normal one from our father), we do not develop the illness but we’re a carrier and there’s a risk we could pass the gene to our children. 1 in 25 people in the UK are carriers.
What is Cystic Fibrosis?
It’s caused by a faulty transport of salt across certain cell membranes. This results in a thick, sticky mucous being excreted by the cells which causes problems mainly in the lungs and the pancreas. It clogs the tiny airways in the lungs predisposing people to chest infections and it obstructs the outflow of the pancreas, preventing enzymes from reaching the intestines to help break down and digest food.
1 | 2 | next
printer friendly
send to a friend
Delicious
Digg
reddit
Facebook
StumbleUpon
Horoscopes| Message Boards | Quizzes | Newsletters | Join
iVillage Ltd is a UK company registered in England & Wales (3837269) at 80-110 New Oxford Street, London WC1 1HB
