Bio

NW
by Nick Wickens1 view·Updated Jan 28, 2022
Create your own

Chapters

Audio TranscriptAuto-generated

  1. Hi today,
  2. I'm going to talk to you about genetic technology
  3. and how it interacts with people who have cystic fibrosis
  4. As well as cystic fibrosis and the COVID-19 pandemic. But what is cystic fibrosis?
  5. Well,
  6. cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease caused by a defect or mutation in the CFTR gene
  7. and can lead to a lack of or complete absence of proteins
  8. responsible for regulating the balance of water and salt in the body.
  9. This defect allows for dehydration of mucus in the body,
  10. making it stickier than usual and making it difficult to breathe
  11. as well.
  12. Cystic fibrosis can target other organ systems in the body,
  13. like the digestive system where the mucus lining
  14. the pancreas and intestines becomes too thick,
  15. taking the release of enzymes and the absorption of nutrients harder for the body.
  16. On the other hand,
  17. COVID-19 is a respiratory disease spread through
  18. droplets and particles containing the infection.
  19. It causes the lungs and other areas of the respiratory system to become
  20. swollen and can cause a decrease in airflow entering and exiting the body.
  21. Individuals who have cystic fibrosis were already at an
  22. increased risk for infections of the respiratory system.
  23. This is due to their decreased ability to filter air because their
  24. cilia isn't able to cut through the sticky mucus and their luxe
  25. with the pandemic around these individuals have had to adjust their
  26. lifestyle to decrease the risk of catching a fatal respiratory disease.
  27. One family in particular,
  28. the excavators were able to use the pandemic as a learning experience on how to
  29. properly take care of and handle their Children's lives in the safest way possible.
  30. They learned about their daughter's condition before birth.
  31. Using hereditary predictions and genetic testing.
  32. Using this,
  33. they were able to know about complications and
  34. other things that could disturb their baby's health,
  35. like respiratory infections and germs.
  36. Using this knowledge,
  37. they decided to isolate in social distance to
  38. keep their families safe and their baby,
  39. which has increased in a better health for the child.
  40. They used genetic technology to help them take
  41. care of their child during the pandemic.
  42. Let's see how it can be useful for others when testing for cystic fibrosis.
  43. With the use of hereditary tools like punnett squares and pedigree charts were
  44. able to see which possibilities of the offspring of two people can have.
  45. Cystic fibrosis is a hereditary recessive disease.
  46. So in order for an individual to be born with it,
  47. they must receive both mutated chromosomes with the CFTR gene.
  48. So if both parents are carriers of mutated genes,
  49. then they have a higher chance of passing on cystic fibrosis to their child.
  50. It can be tested using preimplantation,
  51. genetic diagnosis.
  52. If the couple is using in vitro fertilization or
  53. an embryo synthesis where the baby's amniotic fluid is tested
  54. these methods for predicting and testing a future child
  55. for the presence of genetic disease can be useful in
  56. giving the soon to be parents or insight into the
  57. best way to assist and prepare for their child's accommodations
  58. as well.
  59. They can allow for better knowledge of disease and
  60. allow treatment to be started as soon as possible.
  61. There are a variety of treatments that people with cystic fibrosis can use.
  62. Some treatments include medications like try cafta and collided co.
  63. Which were created using genetic technology and access to the human genome.
  64. Thus there being other airway clearance methods
  65. in which
  66. the lungs are cleared of mucus.
  67. Best therapy uses like a vibrating dust
  68. organ transplants in order to replace damaged or diseased organs.
  69. I have never really been exposed to anyone with cystic fibrosis but
  70. I have seen stuff in the media and books that I've read about
  71. different forms of treatment.
  72. Like in the book Ghosts by Raina Tell Ghimire where the protagonist
  73. sister has to use the best and I think it's really interesting
  74. but there is a bit of an issue.
  75. Although the ability to test for cystic fibrosis before birth is useful.
  76. There are many issues that come with the diagnosis of the disease.
  77. The biggest issue is that cystic fibrosis does not have a cure
  78. treatments are available but they can only
  79. help alleviate side effects to the condition.
  80. There is gene therapy which can help integrate healthy genes into
  81. the cells but it's only effective in cells receiving the therapy.
  82. So one sale system could be working perfectly
  83. but other parts of the body could be failing
  84. organ failure and damage from cystic fibrosis actually cannot be reversed.
  85. People with cystic fibrosis risked the passage of
  86. the disease on to their offspring and these
  87. can all lead to an overall negative quality of life for people with cystic fibrosis.
  88. But,
  89. mm hmm.
  90. In my opinion,
  91. I feel that there are positive outcomes of genetic technologies of
  92. cystic fibrosis and they outweigh the negatives by a lot.
  93. Genetic testing before birth can help a lot.
  94. There are treatments developed using the human genome.
  95. There is continued development and improvement
  96. of treatment and gene therapy does exist
  97. using all of these.
  98. The lives of individuals with cystic fibrosis have been greatly
  99. improved over the years and will continue to further improve.
  100. Thank you very much.