Saria's team has found several distinct patterns of progression: Some patients, for example, have stable lung function for a long period of time but then abruptly deteriorate; others have lung function that declines in a constant, linear pattern; still others have faulty lung function near the time of diagnosis but then recover.
The first success came with cystic fibrosis, which arises when a faulty gene clogs the lungs and pancreas with a sticky mucus.
She knew what was coming, she had bladder cancer, cancer in her lymph nodes, cancer in her lungs, a faulty heart that could go at any time and a decade of Parkinson's and all she cared about was those left behind.
But by talking with parents, Dr. Axelrod came to see that the primary problem wasn't the lungs; it was faulty swallowing that sent liquid into the lungs instead of the stomach, causing pneumonia.
Many researchers believe it could lead to a revolution in the treatment of medical conditions such as muscular dystrophy and cystic fibrosis, for example, by correcting faulty genes in muscles and lungs respectively.
CF is caused by a faulty gene and affects the lungs and digestive system, by clogging them with sticky mucus.
In recent decades, we've dramatically lengthened some lives by simply replacing the faulty part: A heart, kidney, lung, etc.
Because enzymes can fix this kind of damage, DNA repair scientist Zvi Livneh of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, and his colleagues wondered whether the enzymes might be faulty in smokers who develop lung cancer.
We were living with another layer of the nature/culture divide: H has cystic fibrosis, a long-term, life-threatening weakening of the lungs caused by a faulty gene.
