Cystic Fibrosis (CF)

What is cystic fibrosis?

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an inherited disease characterized by an abnormality in the body’s salt, water- and mucus-making cells. It is chronic and progressive disease.

Children with CF have an abnormality in the function of a cell protein called the cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR). CFTR controls the flow of water and certain salts in and out of the body’s cells. As the movement of salt and water in and out of cells is altered, mucus becomes thickened. The thickened mucus can affect many organs and body systems including:

• respiratory - sinuses and lungs
• digestive - pancreas, liver, gallbladder, intestines
• reproductive - more so in the male, where sperm-carrying ducts become clogged
• sweat glands

For more information:

• Symptoms of Cystic Fibrosis

• Diagnosis of Cystic Fibrosis

• Genetics of Cystic Fibrosis

• Treatment of Cystic Fibrosis

• Cystic Fibrosis and the Digestive System

• Cystic Fibrosis and the Reproductive System

• Cystic Fibrosis and the Respiratory System

• Feeding Your Child With Cystic Fibrosis

There are about 30,000 people in the United States who are affected with the disease, and about 1,000 babies are born with it each year. It occurs mainly in Caucasians who have a northern European heredity, although it also occurs in African-Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans.

Approximately one in 31 people in the United States are carriers of the cystic fibrosis gene. These people are not affected by the disease, and usually do not know that they are carriers.

Cystic fibrosis is a complicated illness that requires clinical care by a physician or other healthcare professional. Listed in the directory below you will find additional information about cystic fibrosis, for which we have provided a brief overview. Multidisciplinary teams organized into CF centers are recommended for care of CF and have been shown to result in less illness and longer lives for CF patients.

If you cannot find the information for which you are interested, please visit the Respiratory Disorders Online Resources page in the Web site for an Internet/World Wide Web address that may contain additional information on that topic.

Cystic Fibrosis Center at Rush

The Cystic Fibrosis Center at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois, offers a state-of-the-art, multidisciplinary team approach to the care and treatment of infants, children, adolescents and adults with cystic fibrosis. Our mission is to provide a comprehensive scope of services of the highest quality to patients, while advancing knowledge through education and research.

The Rush Cystic Fibrosis Center is fully accredited by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and has been recognized as a “new model for providing comprehensive cystic fibrosis care” by the North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference.

For more information about care for cystic fibrosis at Rush visit our Cystic Fibrosis Center home page.

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