Cystic Fibrosis is an inherited disease that affects a person's lungs, digestive system, sweat glands, and the male reporductive system.
The name Cystic Fibrosis comes from the fibrous scar tissue that develops in the pancreas, one of the main organs affected by Cystic Fibrosis.
Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic disease. This means that it is caused by a defect in a person's genes. Genes are found in the nucleus of a cell and gives the cell instructions on what to do.
The gene that causes Cystic Fibrosis is called CFTR or Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator. A small defect in this gene causes everything that happens to a person with Cystic Fibrosis or PWCF.
There are over 700 known defects in the CFTR gene that can cause Cystic Fibrosis.
About 70% of all people with a defect in the CFTR gene have the same defect, delta-F508.
