User login
Enter your username and password here in order to log in on the website:
Please note: While some information will still be current in a year, other information may already be out of date in three months time. If you are in any doubt, please feel free to ask.
carriers
- Question
- Is there anything known about CF carriers? Do they generally have more “CF like complaints”?
Or is it a coincidence that CF carriers in our family have more intestinal and pulmonary complaints? Has research on this topic already been done (f.e. abroad)?
- Answer
- Thank you for your question.
The answer is clearly 'no': carriers of a CF mutation are in general healthy and do not need a treatment. However there is some data that suggests that minor respiratory problems or ENT problems (such as rhino-sinusitis, nasal polyps) might be a little more frequent in healthy carriers. Lung problems and intestinal problems of a carrier are not caused by CF. Another reason for these complaints must be sought. Your doctor can tell you more about it.
Being a carrier of a CF mutation does not cause the disease, because CF is a disease that only manifests itself when you have two CF mutations, one on the gene inherited from the father and one on the gene inherited from the mother. There are even theories that carriers have more resistance against some diseases (read more about this on the question about cholera).
Of course, being a carrier of a CF mutation is no guarantee that you will be healthy. A carrier of a CF mutation may have medical problems that need proper diagnosis and treatment. Moreover, if a carrier has CF suggestive symptoms, (f.e. chronic respiratory infections by specific bacteria, inflammation of the pancreas, male infertility) it can be necessary to do specific tests (all CF gene tests, NPD test) in order to exclude with certainty that the person does not have a mild kind of CF (more on this topic on the questions about diagnosis). And of course, if abnormalities in his second CFTR gene surface, then it means he is not a carrier.
You can find more about CF carriers in the archive of ECORN, under "carriers".
Prof. Kris de Boeck - 05.03.2013
- 5.3.13 Please finde more under:
ecorn-cf.eu/index.php?id=65&L=0&tx_expertadvice_pi1%5Bshowitem%5D=1529&tx_expertadvice_pi1%5Bsearch%5D=symptoms%20in%20carriers
D. d'Alquen
