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. People with CF inhale medications daily to open airways in the lungs, to thin their abnormally thick mucus and to fight the bacteria that cause their recurring lung infections. However, although treating these problems makes the patient live a longer and more comfortable life, none of these control the inflammation that occurs in the lungs, which is what ultimately causes respiratory failure.
Inflammation occurs in the airways as the body tries to battle the infections.
Like humans with the condition, the mice exhibited an imbalance of fatty acids. The researchers tried treating the mice with massive doses of DHA and noticed that the symptoms of the disease in the lungs, intestines and pancreas were reversed. The scientists were very hopeful that the same results could be achieved in humans, as the fatty acid imbalance is so similar. This compound is extremely dangerous in large doses. Any treatment that is eventually created will have to be based on a safe derivative of DHA that is not yet close to being discovered.