Patricia Inácio, PhD,  science writer—

Rice University researchers are using a virus that infects moths and magnetic nanoparticles to develop a new vehicle for the delivery of CRISPR/Cas9, a genome-editing tool, with high efficiency and tissue specificity in vivo. CRISPR/Cas9 has gained attention as a potential tool to correct genetic defects linked to diseases…

Synspira’s inhaled SNSP113 candidate therapy against bacterial biofilms in the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) has received orphan drug status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The buildup of mucus in CF patients’ organs, including the lungs, promotes the development of bacterial biofilms — aggregates of bacteria that adhere…

Adding bicarbonate, a salt, to the culture medium of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, two of the most common bacteria underlying lung infections in people with cystic fibrosis (CF), impairs the bacteria’s growth, a study shows. This finding supports the potential use of inhaled bicarbonate as a therapy for…

Cystic fibrosis patients who failed to show early improvements in lung function while being treated with Orkambi (lumacaftor/ivacaftor) still experienced fewer pulmonary exacerbations than those given a placebo in Phase 3 studies, a pooled analysis of those trials reports. Clinicians should consider the totality of outcomes when examining the…

Up to one month of treatment with inhaled vancomycin, the antibiotic of choice for treating most methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections, together with a combination of oral and topical antibiotics, failed to clear infection in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients at better rates than the antibiotic combination alone, results from a Phase 2 clinical…

Single nucleotide polimorphisms (or variants), known as SNPs — the most common type of genetic variation — in the SLC26A9 gene are linked to poorer lung responses to Kalydeco in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, a French study reports. The study, “SLC26A9 Gene Is Associated With Lung Function Response to Ivacaftor in Patients With…

A study in mice showed it is possible to transplant stem cells into the lungs and replenish the airways with healthy cells, an approach that could combat cystic fibrosis and alleviate its symptoms. Researchers used stem cells from the airways of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, which were corrected to produce…

A previously undiscovered and rare type of cell has been identified in the tissue lining the airway of the lungs and carrying high levels of the CFTR gene, the mutation of which is the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis (CF), a study reports. While the exact role of…

Combining the approved multiple sclerosis treatment glatiramer acetate with the antibiotic tobramycin improved its ability to kill antibiotic-resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, new data show. These results were shared in the presentation “The repurposed multiple sclerosis drug, glatiramer acetate, is an antibiotic resistance breaker in Pseudomonas aeruginosa…

One year of treatment with Orkambi (lumacaftor/ivacaftor) returned blood glucose (sugar) levels to normal in almost half of a small group of diabetic or glucose-intolerant cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, a study reports. These results were summarized in the presentation “Observational study of glucose tolerance abnormalities in patients with cystic…