?UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA CHILDREN?S HOSPITAL

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Warren Regelmann, M.D., pediatric pulmonologist and interim pediatric CF program director, Minnesota Cystic Fibrosis Center, Carlye Tomczyk, C.N.P., and Amy Powers, M.S., C.G.C., CF genetic counselor.

Genetic counseling key part of successful cystic fibrosis treatment

Dean and Jen Gagnon were exhausted. Their twin boys, Aidan and Mason, had just been born premature at 33 weeks at University of Minnesota Children?s Hospital. Thankfully, the boys were doing well in the neonatal intensive care unit. Then the Gagnons got the news that Aidan had tested positive for cystic fibrosis (CF). The Minnesota Department of Health now requires that all newborns be screened for cystic fibrosis, an addition that the Minnesota Cystic Fibrosis Center was heavily involved in.

With new thinking, more is possible.

SM May 2009 vol. 3, issue 3 Published bimonthly for health care professionals?Estimated Read Time: 15 minutes Cystic fibrosis is a condition present at birth that causes the body to produce thick, sticky mucus, which blocks the lungs and causes infections. These thick secretions may block the pancreas, which helps the intestines to break down and absorb food. According to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, approximately 30,000 people in the U.S. have CF. An additional 10 million more ? or about 1 in every 31 Americans ? are asymptomatic carriers of the defective CF gene, but do not have the disease. For a child to have CF, both parents must pass on the CF gene. continues on next page>>

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