Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is the most common life threatening genetic condition in Australia. CF affects many of the body’s systems, including lungs and digestion. Improved medication and treatments have seen life expectancy extend considerably. (Cystic Fibrosis Queensland, 2014) In Australia, CF is one of the most widespread genetic disorders, particularly in the younger population. According to recent statistics – roughly, one baby is diagnosed with CF every four days, and approximately 50% of children will bear the gene, but not require diagnosis. Despite advances in technology and modern medicine, CF remains incurable while; it still being ranked as Australia’s most common serious genetic condition in Australian children today, with it affecting one in every 2,500 babies. (myDr, 2001-2014) This extended response task will examine Cystic Fibrosis as a genetic disorder, treatment options for people with CF, will uncover the causes of CF, types of testings available to parents after pregnancy, genetic screenings which look for mutations in the gene that causes CF and why Marilyn and Bob should be disagreeing with their medical practitioners advice that pig stem cells is the answering in curing CF. Mechanic and Treatment of Cystic Fibrosis Cystic Fibrosis has become a major cause for concern in modern medicine. Mucoviscidosis, most commonly known as Cystic Fibrosis is a serious condition which shortens the life of a person affected. A person with CF as of twenty years ago was only guaranteed to reach twenty years of age while now with improved treatment, the average lifespan with someone with CF is 40 years and is expected to increase even further. (The Australian Handbook for General Practitioners, 2007) The most common form of CF i... ... middle of paper ... ...rchers are coming to terms with leads to disease symptoms like gastrointestinal abnormalities and lung disease in the pigs, which is a mirror image to Cystic Fibrosis in humans. (University of Iowa Health Care, 2011) “Instead of just trying to treat the symptoms of CF, current research is moving toward therapies that target the mutations in the CFTR gene, “said David Stoltz, M.D., Ph.D., UI assistant professor of internal medicine and senior study author. Conclusion Cystic Fibrosis is a serious condition to which there is still no current cure, but if treated correctly the patient can enjoy a life only having minor effects with the disease. In this scenario of Marilyn and Bob, it is clear from the implications, decision and justification that using pig stem cells is the wrong option for Marilyn and Bob while persistent treatment should be used instead.
Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Pathophysiology: Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease of the secretory glands that affects the respiratory and digestive system. It mainly affects the lungs, pancreas, liver, intestines, sinuses, and reproductive organs. Cystic fibrosis affects the cells that produce sweat, mucus, and digestive fluids. Mucus becomes thick and sticky, causing build-up in the lungs and blocking airways, making it easier for bacteria to develop. This prompts repeated lung infections and can cause severe lung damage after some time.
CF is a chronic condition therefore the patients are either seeking medical attention or receiving (sometime involuntarily) a great deal of medical scrutiny and intervention during their lifetime.
Along with the problems of chronic illnesses themselves, many other problems may come. Treatments and medications are just the beginning of things when it comes to problems with illnesses. With cystic fibrosis, you start out with a high number of medications and treatments to begin with. The older you get and the worse your condition gets, the more you take. (“Psychological impact,” n.d.) Many struggles come along with taking these medications and treatments. When children are first diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, they are typically very young. From the beginning, there are many medications and treatments that needed to be taken and done. Sometimes, trying to get children to take medications and treatments is like pulling teeth. The medications for cystic fibrosis are extremely important. If cystic fibrosis patients miss medica...
In the Shadow of Illness, the book describes different experiences of families who have or had children with cystic fibrosis (CF). CF is an inherited disease that is passed on from the mother or father who is a carrier, but doesn’t have the condition. Doctors have figured that in this scenario, the parents are likely to have a child with CF. Individuals with CF have to take Cotazymes to help the pancreas digest food. If the person does not take these enzymes, the food goes straight through them as diarrhea. Also, the person’s lungs are affected by a thick mucus that must be removed or thinned before it clogs. Doctors recommend the patient to perform daily breathing exercises that prevent the mucus from thickening; for example, swimming
Cystic fibrosis is one of the most common lethal mutations in humans. The autosomal recessive allele is carried by 1/20 Caucasians, 1/400 couples will have children with the disease, and ¼ children will be afflicted. If untreated, 95% of affected ch ildren will die before age five (Bell, 1996).
There are currently a number of studies being performed on the potential effects of Chronic Wasting disease on human health. So far, CWD has only been transferred outside of the cervid family in laboratory settings by intracerebral injections. There have not been any cases of increased human prion diseases in CWD endemic areas, nor is there currently any evidence indicating humans can contract the disease. Because of the long incubation period of CWD, more studies and years of follow ups are necessary to fully determine if human health can be affected by this disease. As of now, however, there is no evidence that humans or even other animals are affected by Chronic Wasting Disease.
Chronic illness can be very difficult to manage. Cystic fibrosis is the most common life-limiting autosomal (not sex-linked) recessive disease among Caucasian heritage. Although technically a rare disease, it is ranked as one of the most wide spread life-shortening genetic diseases. It is most common among nations in the Western world minus the exception of Finland but it is equally diagnosed between male and female.
Examination of this information would reveal that CF is a genetic disorder is a biological risk that may be inherited by their offspring. This is a very emotional time for the couple and I would explain that CF is an inherited autosomal recessive genetic disorder and testing can be done to determine if they possess this recessive gene. I would give them information about the testing including, how it is done, interpreting the results, and guidance to several that they can make. I would recommend that they do this testing and would discuss the pros and cons of these tests.
“Top Ten Things to Know About Stem Cell Treatments.” Www.closerlookatstemcells.org ISSCR. Web 1 November 2013
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Parker, Steve. "Chronic Pulmonary Diseases." The Human Body Book. New ed. New York: DK Pub., 2007.
1. One couple in the UK who had a child that died from cystic fibrosis was able to screen their new fetus' genes so that their child would be born healthy (Begley).
...there are some risk factors in using stem cell for therapeutic approaches, hematopoietic stem cell therapy by bone marrow transplantation has already been proofed to be safe if donors’ background and screening, cell contamination, HLA matching and opportunistic or nosocomial infections during immunocompromised period were carefully monitored and controlled. Still, other types of stem cell therapies, despite of their good therapeutic efficacy, are remain in experimental stage and need more data to support and demonstrate the safety in clinical trials. More understanding of stem cell biology is also required in order to keep stem cell under controlled and avoid some complications that they might cause. So, to pave the way for successful stem cell therapy, research in this extent is needed to pursue to maximized therapeutic efficiency with highest safety in patients.
...tifying the parents’ genetic potential for producing additional children with cystic fibrosis and, through presymptomatic identification, permitting the family to avert months or years of delay in the correct diagnosis of a child with chronic respiratory problems or poor growth.