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Cystic Fibrosis
Pronunciation
Definition 1
A common hereditary disease in which exocrine (secretory) glands produce abnormally thick mucus. This mucus can cause problems in digestion, breathing, and body cooling. (NCI Dictionary)
Definition 2
A congenital metabolic disorder affecting the exocrine glands, inherited as an autosomal trait. The secretions of exocrine glands are abnormal, resulting in excessively viscid mucus production which causes obstruction of passageways (including pancreatic and bile ducts, intestines, and bronchi). The sweat sodium and chloride content are increased. Symptoms usually appear in childhood and include meconium ileus, poor growth despite good appetite, malabsorption and foul bulky stools, chronic bronchitis with cough, recurrent pneumonia, bronchiectasis, emphysema, clubbing of the fingers, and salt depletion in hot weather. (NCI Thesaurus)
More information
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an inherited disease of the mucus and sweat glands. It affects mostly your lungs, pancreas, liver, intestines, sinuses and sex organs. CF causes your mucus to be thick and sticky. The mucus clogs the lungs, causing breathing problems and making it easy for bacteria to grow. This can lead to problems such as repeated lung infections and lung damage.
The symptoms and severity of CF vary widely. Some people have serious problems from birth. Others have a milder version of the disease that doesn't show up until they are teens or young adults.
Although there is no cure for CF, treatments have improved greatly in recent years. Until the 1980s, most deaths from CF occurred in children and teenagers. Today, with improved treatments, some people who have CF are living into their forties, fifties, or older. (NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
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