Monday, May 29, 2006

Cystic Fibrosis Treatments

Cystic Fibrosis Treatments by Kent Pinkerton

Cystic fibrosis, which affects 30 ,000 American children and adults, is a multisystem disease caused by a defective gene. Presently only symptomatic management is possible, but there are very promising gene- therapy trials under way.

In the respiratory system the thin mucus lining becomes thick and sticky. In cystic fibrosis management, the primary treatment of the system is to thin or clear this mucus. Bronco dilators like albuterol are used to clear the clogged airways. Mucus thinning drugs delivered by aerosol, like pulmozyme, are helpful. The most effective way of clearing this mucus is by mechanically dislodging it. Clapping on the chest and back, with the head tilted on the edge of a table, is quite effective. There is an electrical clapper that does the job safely. There is an electrical inflatable vest that vibrates and dislodges the mucus. Infection is an ever-present risk with cystic fibrosis patients. Regular shots for pneumonia and influenza are very important. Bacterial infection is fought with newer antibiotics like TOBY, which delivers the medicine directly into airways with aerosols.

Because of the blocked ducts of the pancreas and liver, the enzymes and bile do not reach the intestine. Though the patient eats normally or even in excess, the fats and proteins are not digested. So the cystic fibrosis patient needs to have the enzymes supplemented with oral pancreatic enzymes. There is also the need to take vitamins, especially the fat-soluble ones. If lung function is completely damaged, the only alternative would be lung transplantation. This would involve many factors, like the availability of a donor and the patient's present health, prior to undergoing major surgery.

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has 115 centers all over America, and provides guidelines and advice. They support many studies to find gene therapy to cure cystic fibrosis. The target is to add normal genes to the cells of the airways to prevent further damage. Biotech laboratories produce healthy genes, which need to be delivered to the appropriate cells. These vectors, or delivery systems, are the key areas of research to combat cystic fibrosis. One method that is actively pursued is to modify the common cold virus to carry the healthy genes into the correct cells. On another track, the DNA molecules are compacted to their minimum size and delivered directly to the relevant cells without the need for a carrier such as a virus. This technology is called PLAS min.

As this gene therapy experiments are at an advanced stage, the cystic fibrosis sufferers can hope for a permanent cure in the near future.

About the Author
Cystic Fibrosis provides detailed information on Cystic Fibrosis, Cystic Fibrosis Symptoms, Causes Of Cystic Fibrosis, Cystic Fibrosis Treatments and more. Cystic Fibrosis is affliated with Living With COPD .

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Sinus Cystic Fibrosis Infection: a Closer Look

Submitted by: marlonmj
A Printing Press

Have you heard of the infection called Sinus Cystic Fibrosis Infection? From the name itself it sounds for a serious ailment isn't it? What is this all about and how does it affects future sufferers? Let's try to figure out how!

According to scientific research Sinus cystic fibrosis infection is an inherited disorder of the exocrine glands, affecting children and young people. It is caused by a genetic abnormality in the sinus cystic fibrosis infection transmembrane conductance regulator gene that results in the disruption of chloride transfer across cell membranes. As a consequence, chloride ions build up in the cells of the lungs and other organs.

Moreover, water stays inside the cells to dilute the chloride rather than being drawn out of the cells by normal chloride movement and the normal secretions of the organs thicken. When the mucus in the exocrine glands becomes thick and sticky and eventually blocks the ducts of these glands especially in the pancreas, lungs, and liver which will soon be forming cysts. As a result this causes the sweat glands to secrete excessive salt, causing heat prostration in hot weather.

How can we detect if we acquire such infection?

Well there are symptoms varying according to the severity of the condition and the glands involved. Usually, it includes a distended abdomen diarrhea bulky, foul-smelling stools and malnutrition. In the long run, medical problems include nasal polyps and sinus disease, repeated respiratory infections, infertility, liver disease, and diabetes. Diagnosis is confirmed by a sweat test or measurement of transmembrane potential.

Accordingly, this is a cruel and deadly disease that affects almost every systems of our body like the respiratory system, the digestive system, endocrine system and reproductive system. This creates a disease complex with a wide range of disorders that can ultimately include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis-associated liver fibrosis, diabetes mellitus, cholelithiasis, and arthritis.

Treatment consists of dietary adjustment (low fat high calorie) and the administration of vitamins, pancreatin, and antibiotics to ward off secondary infections. Special measures are necessary to decrease the viscosity of pulmonary secretions aerosol application of recombinant human dbase, an enzyme that digests the sticky extra cellular DNA that helps form these viscous secretions, was approved in 1993. In some cases lung transplantation is helpful. The identification of the abnormal gene (1989) paved the way for gene therapy aimed at altering the genetic structure by transferring to the patient cells with normal genes.

Identification of the genes has also made tests for genetic screening and diagnosis possible. Evolutionary biologists have suggested that the gene that must be inherited from both parents to cause the disorder, affords carriers some protection against cholera, a disease that kills through profound loss of fluids.

Health is wealth they say. Monitoring our health should be our primary concern. Staying away from any infections by living a healthy life is the best solution to fight SINUS CYSTIC FIBROSIS INFECTION!

For additional information and comments about the article you may log on to http://www.sinusinfectionproblems.com

Friday, May 05, 2006

Cystic Fibrosis

submitted by Kent Pinkerton

Cystic fibrosis is a medical condition that starts in early childhood, sometimes as early as from the time of birth. A defective gene causes the problem and there is no known cure, though there are some promising experiments going on towards gene therapy. The medical profession understands the symptomatic treatment well and the average lifespan of persons with cystic fibrosis is increasing.

Nature's mechanism for filtering out the dust and microorganisms people breathe in is to secrete thin mucus in the airways and the lungs, and clear it through the nose or the digestive tract. For the person with cystic fibrosis, this mucus, which normally is thin and slippery, becomes thick and sticky. Other affected and thickened secretions are sweat, digestive juices and the reproductive system.

Since the lungs are congested, the pulmonary capacity drops. The blocked airways cause severe breathing difficulties and asthma-like wheezing. The digestive juices from the pancreas and liver do not reach the intestine, as the ducts get blocked. The fats and proteins are not digested. Though the patient eats normally, maybe even in excess, he is undernourished and is under weight. Fat-soluble vitamins become deficient.

There are approximately ten million symptomless carriers of the defective cystic fibrosis gene in America. A person needs to inherit two defective cystic fibrosis genes to be afflicted with cystic fibrosis. Every time two carriers produce a child, the chances are 25 % that the child may be affected with cystic fibrosis, 50 % that the child may be a carrier and 25% that the child may be a non-carrier.

To diagnose cystic fibrosis, the laboratory carries out a sweat test. The treatment is only symptomatic. We cannot at this stage make the secretions thin, but can neutralize the effects of thickened secretions by regular treatment and management. A high-fat diet with enzyme and vitamin supplements helps the patient with nutrition.

A strict lifestyle regime to prevent complications is very important. Drinking plenty of liquid loosens the mucus. Regular exercise, as much as possible, keeps the respiratory system clear and improves the cardiovascular system. The cystic fibrosis patient must avoid smoky or dusty places. Hand cleaning is a simple but very effective step to prevent infection.

Few cystic fibrosis patients lived beyond their teens in the past, but thanks to improved management, 40 % of the 30,000 Americans with cystic fibrosis are over 18 and many are into their 30 s and 40s.

Cystic Fibrosis provides detailed information on Cystic Fibrosis, Cystic Fibrosis Symptoms, Causes Of Cystic Fibrosis, Cystic Fibrosis Treatments and more.

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Causes of Cystic Fibrosis

Submitted by: Kent Pinkerton

Cystic fibrosis is a life-threatening disease caused by a defective gene and affecting about 30 ,000 children in America. There is no cure for it so far, but there are lots of promising experiments and clinical studies going on to find a genetic therapy to cure cystic fibrosis. Humans transmit the genetic code to the next generation through DNA, containing 23 pairs of chromosomes. The seventh chromosome contains the defective gene that causes cystic fibrosis. There are over ten million Americans who this defective gene without having the disease. When both parents are carriers there is a 25% chance that the child will have a recessive gene; that is, the child has two copies of the defective gene from both parents. This gene signals the epithelial cells to produce cystic fibrosis trans-membrane conductance regulator (cystic fibrosisTR). It is a bad protein found in the digestive system, skin and reproductive system of cystic fibrosis patients. .... Read more

When the cystic fibrosisTR is not normal, the regulation of salt through the membranes becomes defective. This results in the secretions of the lining such as mucus, digestive juices and sweat, becoming thick and sticky.

The respiratory system secretes thin and slippery mucus to clear away the foreign bodies and microorganisms that invade the system. In cystic fibrosis patients this mucus, thick and sticky, not only fails to clean the system but also blocks the lungs and airways and creates a life-threatening problem with the respiratory system. As the microorganisms are not cleared there are serious infections, like bronchitis, pneumonia and influenza. So a cystic fibrosis patient has to take care of his respiratory system constantly, with bronchodilators, electrical clappers and electrical inflatable vest vibrators. Newer antibiotics control the infections to a good extent.

In the digestive system the ducts between the pancreas and intestine and between the liver and intestine are blocked. Due to the shortage of enzymes and bile, the cystic fibrosis patient is unable to digest fats and proteins. He becomes malnourished, underweight and weak. Enzyme and vitamin supplements take care of the problem to an extent. In the reproductive system the duct between the testes and prostate get blocked, and so a majority of cystic fibrosis patients are sterile.

Cystic Fibrosis provides detailed information on Cystic Fibrosis, Cystic Fibrosis Symptoms, Causes Of Cystic Fibrosis, Cystic Fibrosis Treatments and more.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Hope for Cystic Fibrosis Sufferers

An inherited disease, cystic fibrosis is thought to affect about 30,000 Americans and is the most common, life-shortening genetic disease known. Much of the population has heard the term cystic fibrosis, but few understand its meaning or consequences.

Usually the earliest signs of cystic fibrosis include extremely salty-tasty skin, and extremely thick, sticky and copious mucus. The mucus causes blockages in the pancreatic duct and prohibits digestive enzymes from reaching the intestinal tract where they are normally used for digestion of fats. Without the enzymes fats cannot be digested and are excreted in bulky, greasy stools, another hallmark sign of cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis patients also suffer with chronic respiratory tract infections that include unrelenting coughing from the excess mucus in the lungs.

As cystic fibrosis is inherited, there is little that can be done to reverse or cure this disease. Instead, current treatment is focused on alleviating and decreasing as many of the symptoms as possible. Mucus clearing is of the utmost important so as to keep the airways clear. Antibiotics for lung infections, mucus thinning drugs and pancreatic enzyme supplements are among the most common cystic fibrosis treatments.

A new hope for cystic fibrosis patients is slowly emerging, however. Scientists are finding and reporting that many of the mutations which may partially contribute to cystic fibrosis symptoms can be traced back to deformed or missing glycoconjugates1,2. For example, a mutation in the CFTR gene will produce an incorrect glycoprotein product. The mutated glycoprotein in turn results in the cellular chloride channel defects seen in cystic fibrosis2 - thus generating salty skin.

Researchers believe that many of the symptoms of cystic fibrosis follow the same pattern: mutated gene produces a mutated glycoconjugate resulting in a defective cellular component.

Recently researchers in lab experiments have confirmed that with the addition of glyconutrients, correct function was restored to defective CFTR in animal models with cystic fibrosis2. This is an extremely positive and encouraging step toward using glyconutrients for cystic fibrosis patients. Other studies have focused on glyconutrients as well as antioxidants for cystic fibrosis2. The current trend is to conduct more research into the role glyconutrients play in cystic fibrosis patients. In the meantime, however, many patients are choosing to supplement their regimen with these plant based glyconutrients.

Monday, May 01, 2006

The Benefits Of Salt Therapy

The benefits of salt therapy (also called Halotherapy) or speleotherapy are well known and documented in Europe. Halotherapy uses dry aerosol micro particles of salt and minerals to treat respiratory diseases and seeks to replicate the conditions of speleotherapy (from Greek speleos=cave), a treatment that has been practiced in old salt mines of Eastern Europe since the early 19th century.

In the mid 18th Century a Polish health official Felix Botchkowski, noticed that the workers of salt mines did not get ill with lung diseases. He wrote a book about the effects of salt dust in 1843. His successor M. Poljakowski founded a Salt Spa in Velicko near Krakow, which is still in operation. During the Second World War salt mines were often used as bombproof shelters. After spending time there many people who suffered from asthma felt that their health had gotten better! Today there are many salt sanatoriums in Europe (Austria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia...).

The Halotherapy belongs to the category of the physical therapies non-drug and non invasive treatments of diseases. In the former Soviet Union, medical researchers engaged in a concerted effort to develop physical therapies in order to avoid the costs and side effects of drug therapy as well as microbial and tumour resistance. Russia has become the world leader in developing and testing new and increasingly effective physical therapies. Many of the clinical trials have focused on Halotherapy as a treatment of asthma and chronic bronchitis and also very effective as a main or adjuvant therapy across the entire range of upper and lower respiratory tract diseases.

Respiratory diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Most drug therapies of respiratory diseases have only palliative effects, and many have significant side effects, especially those with corticoids or steroids. So, a physical therapy like Halotherapy is greatly needed.

Speleotherapy also makes a great demand on patients' time. The mines are not conveniently located for most people and the total cost is fairly significant.

The effectiveness of speleotherapy is not acknowledged in all countries of the world, but in countries like Romania (Praid, Tg.Ocna,Seiged, Sovata, Slanic, Ocna), Poland (Wieliczka), Germany (Teufelshöhle), Austria (Hallen, Solzbad-Salzeman), Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Hungary, Russia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Nakhichevan mines in Azerbaijan, the salt aerosol plays an important role in the treatment of chronic respiratory diseases, working well with or without medical treatment and without any known side effects. Because of these, pregnant women with asthma or other respiratory diseases could use this therapy without any harm to the child. Very well known and appreciated in these middle-eastern European countries, this therapy is covered by the public health care system. In Romania there are also many salt lakes - Sovata with 7 salt lakes, Ocna Sibiului with 52 salt lakes in S-W of Transilvania, very well known in the treatment of infertility, metabolic diseases,skin diseases. These salt lakes were usually formed by collapsing of salt caves ceilings. All these salt lakes have different salinity, increasing with deepness – from 9g/l to 320g/l.

This salt therapy being very well known for its beneficial effects, a Romanian inventor puts his mind at work and developed a device that is able to reproduce a speleotherapy micro environment in your home in an affordable and convenient way. Internationally recognized, with Gold and Silver medal at “Salon International des Inventions”,Geneva and “World Exhibition of Innovation, Research and New Technology”, Brussels, this Romanian invention brings new hopes in the natural treatment of chronic respiratory diseases.

The inventor thought this device as an air salinizer that uses forced ionization of the indoor air by salt sublimation creating a micro climate of dry aerosol salt therapy in your living space. He used a natural process of salt crystallization to obtain salt micro crystals under 5µm in diameter, invisible to human eyes, being able to penetrate deep into the lung. The device uses only natural salt from within the mountain of salt, untreated or touched by the human processing technology.

Based on clinical studies, the inhaled saline has bactericide, mucokinetic, hydrophilic, anti inflammatory properties, reducing inflammation in the whole respiratory tract, absorbing edema from the mucosa lining the airway passages leading to widening of the airway passages, restoring the normal transport of mucus and unclog blockages in the bronchi and bronchioles leading to rapid elimination of the residual tar and foreign allergens, all of these in a natural process.

Edema of the nasal mucosa and the oropharynx and soft palate, causing nasal obstruction and snoring is diminished, leading to widening of the airway passage in the nose and the tubes of the sinuses and improving the sinuses drainage and reducing snoring.

In the auditory tube, edema of the Eustachian tube causing ear infection, is also diminished, leading to widening of the airway passages, better drainage and better aeration behind the tympanic membrane.

The salt therapy was found to have beneficial effects in the treatment of:

Asthma and Chronic Bronchitis

COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)

Allergic Rhinopathy or Hay Fever

Cystic Fibrosis

Sinusitis

Ear Infections

Smoking Cough

Various acute or chronic respiratory disease

Reduce snoring and activates better sleep by clearing the airway passages in oropharyngeal region

Increased resistance to Cold & Flu by opening and clearing the nasal airway and improving the drainage of the sinuses

Humidifies the bronchial secretions reducing broncho-spasm and facilitating elimination of the smoke residual tar, phlegm expel and other allergens

Improves the quality of the indoor air by eliminating the dust, cigarette smoke, bad odours, mould and mites, having bactericide reduction properties.

The salt therapy is a natural method of therapy and does not involve any risk and is finally adapted to the living space. However, this is not a substitute for medical treatment and should only be used as an adjuvant helping to improve the quality of patients’ life, reducing the antibiotics and corticoids or steroids intake, reducing the rate of annual hospitalizations and decrease the frequency of respiratory diseases attacks. For more information, clinical studies and testimonials you can visit the web site.

NB: The author grants reprint permission to opt-in publications and websites so long as the copyright and by-line are included intact and the article is not used in spam.
Educated and motivated person, having a multicultural background with extensive knowledge about European health products and practices.

LTiba
WebSite: http://www.salinetherapy.com
Phone: +1 / 519.641.SALT