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Cystic Fibrosis

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Cystic fibrosis is a chronic, inherited, life threatening disease that affects organs in the body, because of sticky and thick mucus buildup on organs. The organs that are affected are the liver, lungs, pancreas, and intestine, which does damage to the respiratory, digestive and reproductive systems (Crosta). Cystic fibrosis is caused by a mutation in a gene called cystic fibrosis trans-membrane regulator, also called CFTR, which has an important function of creating sweat, mucus and digestive juices (Crostra).
The CFTR gene is a transporter gene that contains codes that tells cells how to behave. It is also located in the seventh chromosome, in which it’s responsible for regulating salt and water movement between cells. When the CFTR gene contains a mutation, which is being prevented from doing its job, cystic fibrosis occurs. There are about 1500 CFTR mutations in six different categories, which are known to have a cause to cystic fibrosis, although each category of mutations affects the CTFR gene in a different way. The mutation causes a change in the code, so sodium and chloride doesn’t flow properly across the cell membrane. This results in the mucus becoming thick and sticky, which causes problems to people with cystic fibrosis (Alma).
Normally, mucus is a slippery, watery substance that lines organs to keep them moist and prevent drying out or getting infected, but when one has cystic fibrosis, mucus is thick and sticky. The thick mucus builds up in the lungs and blocks the airways, which makes it easy for bacteria to grow. When the bacteria begin to grow, it leads to serious lung infections and over time causes severe damage to your lungs (“What is Cystic Fibrosis?”). Digestion problems can occur when the thick mucus block...

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