Author Description

This concise manual provides clinicians and other related health care professionals with an essential reference tool to the background of cystic fibrosis, and the management and treatment of this disease. The latest guidelines are reviewed and current and emerging treatments are discussed in the latter chapters. Cystic fibrosis is an inherited condition where a mutation in the gene coding for the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) causes loss of function. The dysfunction of CFTR results in the production of thick mucus in the lungs and digestive tract, causing pulmonary and gastrointestinal manifestations. The incidence of cystic fibrosis in Europe and the US ranges between 1 in 2,000 and 1 in 25,000.