However, deterioration is inevitable, leading to debility and eventually death. Nonetheless, the outlook has improved steadily over the past 25 years, mainly because treatments can now postpone some of the changes that occur in the lungs. Half of the people with cystic fibrosis live longer than 28 years. Long-term survival is somewhat better in males, people who don't have pancreatic problems, and people whose initial symptoms are restricted to the digestive system. Despite their many problems, people with cystic fibrosis usually attend school or work until shortly before death.
Gene therapy holds great promise for treating cystic fibrosis.
There are many new and exciting treatments and medications currently being developed for cystic fibrosis. In order to effectively treat the symptoms of the disease, researchers are constantly trying to understand what causes the problems associated with it. The discoveries that result enable scientists to create new methods of treating the condition. Some of these treatments fight the body's reaction to the symptoms of CF, some treat the disease at the cellular level, while some attack the very gene that causes CF in the first place. Most cystic fibrosis patients are treated with inhalable aerosol solutions.