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Causes Of Cystic Fibrosis |
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Cystic Fibrosis is a disease which is considered to be an inheritable and genetic disease. The disease itself causes the mucus membranes to produce thicker mucus than that of a normal person due to the epithelium being affected by the disease. The epithelium is the thin layer of cells which lines the various passageways of the body and produces the mucus as a form of lubrication that assists in the protection of various bodily organs. When the mucus is too thick, it cannot readily move and therefore clogs up these passageways which in turn causes an infection The two organs of the body which are affected the most by cystic fibrosis is the lungs and the pancreas which effects the person’s ability to breath as well as digest food accordingly. This can lead to various infections in the lungs as a result of the mucus being unable to freely move out as well as clogging up the pancreas and preventing the proper absorption of much needed vitamins and nutrients. Cystic fibrosis has also been recorded as affecting the sweat glands, liver as well as the reproductive organs. It is not considered to be a contagious disease so it cannot be passed from one person to another through any means other than genetics and as of currently there is roughly 30,000 reported cases of cystic fibrosis in the United States. This disease affects both the male and female population without discrimination. The causes of the cystic fibrosis disease are a mutation or change in one of the 23 pairs of chromosomes which are the basis of life. As humans, we have 23 pairs of chromosomes which determine things like sex, height, hair color, skin color and whether we are human or another species. It is in chromosome number 7 that these changes occur and are then passed on to our offspring who in effect are born with cystic fibrosis. This chromosome 7 is responsible for telling the cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator, or CFTR, how much protein it needs to produce. In the case of cystic fibrosis though, this regulator produces an abnormal amount of this protein and some times none at all. It is possible for a parent to carry this gene mutation without physically having the disease since the chromosomes are always in pairs. It is when both the parents carry one pair of this chromosome 7 mutation that when passed on to their child can cause both of the pairs to be mutated. While the parents may never even know that they have this defective and mutated gene due to its pair taking over when it cannot. Unfortunately when both parents pass their mutated chromosome 7 to their child, the child no longer has a “good gene” for which to take over.
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Causes of Cystic Fibrosis 