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Cystic Fibrosis: Biological And Ethical Considerations, Sarah Elizabeth Milam

Honors Theses

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a progressive, multisystem disease whose etiology is a genetic mutation in the CF gene product, cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). The disorder affects all exocrine glands, with common symptoms involving the lungs and pancreas. Although the CF gene and its protein product have been identified, two aspects of the disease make CF particularly difficult to diagnose and manage: (a) variability in both degree and pattern of the mutation in different individuals and (b) lack of information regarding the precise molecular and cellular mechanisms responsible. Let us begin by examining the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of the …