Parent’s Guide to Cystic Fibrosis

The fourth volume in the University of Minnesota Guides to Birth and Childhood Disorders series explains in detail the genetic causes and biological effects of cystic fibrosis as well as its social and psychological ramifications. The authors describe how the body’s various systems - respiratory, digestive, reproductive, and musculoskeletal - respond to the disease, and they discuss the rationale behind the strategies employed to control it. Recent advances in treatment are summarized and a synopsis of some of the more promising research on the horizon is provided. Stressing a personal, informative approach, the authors have augmented the text with case histories and comments from parents and patients. An entire chapter is devoted to family life, and selections from a “family diary” round out the chapters.