Patricia Inácio, PhD, science writer —

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug status to ARCT-032, Arcturus Therapeutics’ inhaled experimental treatment for cystic fibrosis (CF). The designation is intended to encourage the development of therapies for rare diseases, or those affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S. It provides incentives,…

Cystic fibrosis (CF) patients who are positive for the fungus Aspergillus and develop an allergic reaction to it experience worse outcomes after getting COVID-19, a study reports. The allergic response, called bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA), increases the risk of hospitalization and sepsis, a life-threatening immune system reaction to an infection, data show.

While adding azithromycin to another antibiotic, called tobramycin, showed benefits in children with cystic fibrosis (CF) and early Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections, these outcomes were not due to the medication’s effects on the community of microbes  — known as the microbiome — living in the airways. That’s according to a new…

Regular assessments of food security — a measure of whether nutritionally adequate foods are available — are linked with a lower risk of children with cystic fibrosis (CF) being underweight, a U.S. study reports. Such assessments are also associated with better body mass index (BMI; a measure of body…

Adults using Kalydeco (ivacaftor) or Trikafta (ivacaftor/tezacaftor/elexacaftor) to treat their cystic fibrosis (CF) showed gains in lung function and nutritional status, according to a real-world, observational study in Australia. In contrast, no significant improvements in lung function were seen in adults or children with CF using Orkambi (ivacaftor/lumacaftor)…

The annual number of new cases of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) lung infections is increasing in the U.S. among people with cystic fibrosis, a study finds. Between 2010 and 2019, the incidence, or new cases, of infections increased by 3.5% a year, with the highest number seen in the South. NTN…

Two new Strategic Research Centres (SRC), each leading a multiyear study into research priorities identified by cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, will open the U.K. in September. The work, which bring together scientists and specialists from different fields, is supported by £1.4 million — around $1.8 million — in funding…

A new adrulipase formulation for people with cystic fibrosis (CF), designed as a treatment for exocrine pancreatic insufficiency or EPI — when the small intestine is unable to fully digest food due to problems with digestive enzymes from the pancreas — was deemed safe and well tolerated in a…

Children with cystic fibrosis (CF) who have normal pancreas function — called pancreatic sufficiency (PS) — are at higher risk of being overweight and obese than those with pancreatic insufficiency (PI), according to a single-center study in Greece. According to its researchers, findings support a reevaluation of “the recommendation…

Changes in two human voice parameters may help identify poor control of blood sugar levels in people with cystic fibrosis (CF) who have CF-related diabetes (CFRD), a pilot study reported. Lower measures on these parameters, known as fundamental frequency variation and noise-to-harmonic ratio, were linked with higher glucose,…