The disease causes the body to produce an abnormally thick, sticky mucus, which clogs the lungs and pancreas and prevents enzymes from reaching the intestines to digest food. In the lungs, this mucus eventually causes fatal infections. The team of K-State Research and Extension scientists led by Tomich is stringing together amino acids to form this potential therapy. Using computer models, peptide synthesis and laboratory tests, researchers are finding that the peptide can restore lost functionality caused by the defective cystic fibrosis cells. Tomich claims his peptides are able to form tiny pores in the outer membrane of epithelial cells and boost the rate of secretion of chloride ions from the cells.
Cystic fibrosis is deemed the most common fatal genetic disease in the United States today.
It affects approximately 30,000 children and young adults in the U.S., and approximately 1,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. In 1998, there were 13 new cases detected in Kansas. Cystic fibrosis is typically diagnosed in children by the age of three. The life expectancy for a person with the disease is 31 years. Treating the disease is costly.