Cystic Fibrosis
...the most common fatal hereditary disorder affecting Caucasians in the United States. CF mostly affects the respiratory and digestive system, but the sweat glands and the reproductive system are usually involved. This disease is found in children and young adults. On average, the life span of a female with CF is 25 years and 30 years for a male with CF. CF affects different patients in different ways. However, treatments are available to increase the average life span.
CF is an autosomal recessive disorder that is caused by a mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. It only occurs in children who have inherited two abnormal copies of a specific gene, one from each parent. A parent can be a CF carrier and not have CF but have one normal copy of this gene and one abnormal copy. CF carriers can pass on their normal copy of their gene or they can pass on their abnormal copy. A child who receives a normal copy from one parent but an abnormal copy from the other parent will be a CF carrier and will not have the disease. Although a child that receives an abnormal gene from both parents will develop CF. If both parents have one abnormal copy of the gene, then each child they produce has a twenty-five percent chance of receiving both abnormal copies and having the disease. Males and females are equally likely to inherit CF.
According to data collected by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, about 30,000 Americans, 3,000 Canadians, and 20,000 Europeans have CF. The disease is most common in whites whose ancestors came from Europe, causing about two to five percent of Caucasians to carry the cystic fibrosis gene. Although CF affects people of every race and ethnic group it is less common in African Americans, Native Americans, and Asian Americans. About 2,500 babies are born each year with CF in the United States. One in every twenty...
View Full Essay
