Lindsey Shapiro, PhD, science writer —

A year of treatment with Trikafta (elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor) significantly reduces recurrent nose and sinus inflammation — called chronic rhinosinusitis, or CRS — in people with cystic fibrosis (CF), though most patients still exhibit signs of severe sinus disease. These are the findings of a new U.S. study that, similar to…

Rates of metabolic and cardiovascular complications — from diabetes and kidney issues to hypertension and abnormal blood-fat levels — increased in the years following a lung transplant among people with cystic fibrosis (CF), according to a recent analysis in the Netherlands. These findings emphasize a need for routine monitoring of…

The community of microbes in the gut, called the gut microbiome, was affected by age, antibiotic use, and geography among infants with cystic fibrosis (CF) in the U.S. and Australia, according to a new study in the two nations. Babies with CF in Australia, where preventive antibiotic usage is…

More than half of the cystic fibrosis (CF) patients who may have been eligible for a second lung transplant died while on a waitlist or had no record of being placed on one, according to a recent analysis in the U.S. and Canada. Among those who did have a…

Bacteriophage therapy could be a promising approach for treating antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in people with cystic fibrosis (CF), according to a small review study. Scientists believe the review, involving three CF patients and two animal models, support moving forward with clinical trials for bacteriophage…

Surrogate markers of nutritional status, including body mass index (BMI) and fat-free mass index, only weakly associated with lung function among children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis (CF) in a recent study. These young patients had different trajectories in nutritional status throughout childhood, with girls tending to maintain a…

Note: This story has been updated Aug. 11, 2023, to correct the definition of a rare disease, which is defined as one affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S., and to reflect that researchers estimate cystic fibrosis may affect about 160,000 people worldwide. Of the more than 100 investigational…

A year of treatment with Kaftrio (elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor) led to gains in lung function and nutritional status for cystic fibrosis (CF) patients in Germany, a real-world study in over 2,600 people reported. Sold as Trikafta in the U.S. and Canada, Kaftrio’s use also resulted in fewer in pulmonary exacerbations…

Hispanic cystic fibrosis (CF) patients are at a higher risk of developing Staphylococcus aureus lung infections — and at a younger age — than are non-Hispanic white patients, according to a new U.S. study. The analysis also indicated that Hispanic CF patients, on average, develop both antibiotic-responsive and…

A protein from scorpionfish might combat antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, a recent study suggests. The human version of the protein, called bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein (BPI), normally works to fight off bacteria, but people with CF have self-reactive antibodies that destroy it. In lab studies, the scorpionfish…