Damaging Effects of Cystic Fibrosis
Damaging Effects of Cystic Fibrosis
Cystic fibrosis is a debilitating disease facing many people today. At the present time there is no cure available. According to the cystic fibrosis foundation of America, cystic fibrosis can be traced back as early as 1595. The first documented case was not reported until 1936. One group of people that seem to be affected the most by cystic fibrosis is Caucasians. Recent statistics indicate that 1 in 3,200 live causcasian births are afflicted with cystic fibrosis. For reasons that are currently unknown African Americans have aslightly lower chance of developing cystic fibrosis usually 1 in 15,000 live births. Cystic fibrosis remains to be a rare disease in the asian population as well as the native American population.
In the United States there are 1,000 children born each year with cystic fibrosis. Current numbers suggest that there is over 30,000 people in the United States alone living with this crippling disease. In the United states approximately 1 in 25 -30 people are carriers of the mutated gene that causes cystic fibrosis (Sheppard and Nicholson ). The cystic fibrosis foundation of America has repoted that there is over 10 million people who are possible carriers of the mutated gene.
Cystic fibrosis is an inherited genetic disease. In actuality cystic fibrosis is an autosomal recessive disease(Lim and Zeitlin). Cystic fibrosis is now considered the most common genetic disease among Caucasians (Sheppard Nichsoln). Although cystic fibrous tends to display an ethnicity bias it does not have a gender bias. The autosomal recessive disease indicates that the mutated gene that causes cystic fibrosis is not located on the sex chromosome.
In 1989 the mutated gene that causes cystic fibrosis was discovered, and this was one step closer to understanding a disease that affects so many people ( Sheppard and Nicholson). The mutated gene is located on autosomal chromosome number 7 . The mutation occurs in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene (CFTR). At the present time researchers have concluded that there are over 900 different mutations in the CFTR gene (Sheppard Nicholson). The severity of the disease is based upon the variations of mutations that are expressed (Panesear). For instance a gene with over 900 mutations can wreak havoc on the human body causing a plethora of problems. When a person is a carrier of the mutated CFTR gene , and is paired with a non-carrier the cystic...