Cystic fibrosis is a common hereditary disease that affects the
entire
body, causing progressive disability and early death. Breathing
difficulties are the most common symptom and result from frequent
lung
infections that are treated, though not always cured, by antibiotics
and other medications. A multitude of other symptoms, including
sinus
infections, poor growth, diarrhea, and infertility, result from the
effects of the disease on other parts of the body. Cystic fibrosis
is
one of the most common fatal inherited diseases. It is most
prevalent
among Caucasians and Ashkenazi Jews; one in 25 people of European
descent is a carrier for this disease. Individuals with cystic
fibrosis can be diagnosed prior to birth by genetic testing or in
early childhood by a sweat test. There is no cure, and most patients
die young — many in their 20s and 30s from respiratory failure.
Ultimately, lung transplantation is often necessary as the symptoms
worsen. Cystic fibrosis is caused by a mutation in a gene called the
cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cystic_fibrosis
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1785:
The dollar, a decimal currency system, was unanimously chosen as the
money unit for the United States.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_dollar)
1885:
Louis Pasteur successfully tested his vaccine against rabies on
Joseph Meister.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/rabies)
1887:
King Kalākaua of Hawai'i was forced by armed foreign businessmen to
sign the Bayonet Constitution.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayonet_Constitution)
1942:
Anne Frank and her family went into hiding in the "Secret Annex"
above her father's office in an Amsterdam warehouse.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Frank)
1966:
Malawi became a republic, with Hastings Banda as the first
President.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hastings_Banda)
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Wikiquote of the day:
"They thought I was a Surrealist, but I wasn't. I never painted
dreams. I painted my own reality." -- Frida Kahlo
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Frida_Kahlo)