Maureen Newman,  —

Ever since High Frequency Chest Wall Oscillation (HFCWO) devices were developed to help patients with cystic fibrosis breathe easier, clinical researchers required appropriate parameters to assess the efficacy of HFCWO-based therapies. It is common practice to look at three main indicators of pulmonary and overall health: mucus clearance,…

Anthera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is initiating a Phase 3 clinical trial entitled SOLUTION (Study of Oral Liprotamase Unit-Matched Therapy Of Non-Porcine Origin in People With Cystic Fibrosis) to investigate the use of Sollpura® (liprotamase) in patients with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) due to cystic fibrosis. The study…

Researchers at Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (INSERM) in France have learned one way to “fix” cells that have characteristics of cystic fibrosis. These cells, which had faulty CFTR channel proteins, were able to make more functional CFTR protein following treatment with tumor necrosis…

In both adolescents and adults, nutritional status can play a major role in the rate of disease progression. Individuals with poor nutritional status and low weight retention are at a higher risk for worsening lung function and increased mortality. However, in light of a new study from Hospital Universitario Ramón…

Treating the root cause of cystic fibrosis, rather than just the symptoms, may be an ideal approach to improving patient outcomes for people with the disease. Thanks to a new study conducted by scientists at Howard Hughes Medical Institute and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a treatment strategy based on this concept may…

The pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the most common infectious agent that affects cystic fibrosis patients and leads to chronic pulmonary infection and progressive lung damage. Researchers have been hard at work developing a vaccine against Pseudomonas aeruginosa to administer to cystic fibrosis patients to prevent colonization and subsequent lung damage,…

Newly found workings of Pseudomonas aeruginosa may explain why certain medications are only modestly effective in patients with cystic fibrosis. A group of researchers led by Dr. Pradeep Singh and Dr. Peter Jorth at the University of Washington School of Medicine discovered that when P. aeruginosa infects cystic fibrosis patients’…

Gene therapy in the context of treating cystic fibrosis made a significant step forward with the announcement of positive data from a Phase IIb clinical trial investigating the VGXI-manufactured aerosolized DNA plasmid expressing Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Receptor (CFTR) — an experimental CF therapy that improved a key lung function…

Accuracy and efficiency are of utmost importance when deciding on a diagnostic tool to detect cystic fibrosis in newborns. The gold standard of detection is measuring sweat ion concentration, as patients with defect CFTR proteins have an elevated electrolyte content in their sweat. However, another method that is now only…

Coughing, wheezing, breathlessness during exercise, and increased sputum production are typical cystic fibrosis symptoms. However, these are also the symptoms of a complication that affects cystic fibrosis patients, termed allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA). According to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, children affected by ABPA are allergic to the…