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Cystic Fibrosis : A Defect

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Running head: Cystic Fibrosis: A Defect in the CFTR Gene

Cystic Fibrosis: A Defect in the CFTR Gene Alexandra L Allen
Southern Union State Community College
RAD212: Image Evaluation and Pathology

Abstract What is Cystic Fibrosis? How does it affect people living with it? Cystic Fibrosis, also known as CF, is a life-threatening hereditary disease. It is inherited by a faulty cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductor (CFTR) gene from each parent (Kowalczyk, 2014, p. 74). This faulty gene makes a defective protein that does not work well and causes the body to produce sticky, thick mucus and very salty sweat("About CF: Causes, Signs & Symptoms of Cystic Fibrosis," …show more content…

It is caused when an individual inherits a faulty gene, CFTR, from each parent ("What Is Cystic Fibrosis?," 2013). It is the most common lethal genetic disease that affects white children, impacting more than 30,000 children and young adults in the United States (Kowalczyk, 2014, p. 75), (Jr., 2014).
A defect in the CFTR gene, or cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator gene, is what causes Cystic Fibrosis. Every person inherits two of these genes, one coming from each parent. If a child inherits a faulty CFTR gene from both parents they will have CF. If a child inherits only one faulty CFTR gene, they are considered “CF carriers” ("What Causes Cystic Fibrosis?," 2013). More than 10 million Americans are carriers of the defective CF gene ("Cystic Fibrosis Foundation – Testing for Cystic Fibrosis," 2014). Carriers are able to live a normal, healthy life and they usually have no symptoms of CF, however, they could pass the faulty CFTR gene down to their children ("What Causes Cystic Fibrosis?," 2013). Carrier testing is available to help people identify if they could pass down the gene. The test uses blood samples or scraped cells from inside the cheek to look at a person’s genetic material ("Cystic Fibrosis Foundation – Testing for Cystic Fibrosis," 2014). The figure below shows how the CFTR gene can be inherited (Kotrla, 2014).
Every time two carrier

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