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New hope for cystic fibrosis patients

JANUARY 20, 2005 -- There's new hope for patients with cystic fibrosis. There's still not a cure, but there is a drug that may help those with the disease breathe more easily. That drug is being developed by researchers at UNC-Wilmington and the Wilmington company, AAI Pharma.

Wilmington doctor Brian Legere points out why cystic fibrosis is hard to battle, and what makes treatment of the usually fatal hereditary disease so taxing for patients.

"Breathing treatments to help relax muscles around airways, antibiotic pills, vitamins, things like that," Dr. Legere said. "So, it does take up a fair amount of time in the day."

That's where UNCW researchers come in. Marine biologists discovered the same toxic red tide algae known for killing fish, may be able to help fight cystic fibrosis. Anti-toxins found in red tide eat away mucus buildup inside the lungs of sheep.

"There is a profound increase in the degree of clearance of mucus from the lungs," said Daniel Baden, who is leading the UNCW research team. "One could envision again from an inhaler that cystic fibrosis patients could use a drug very similar to this to actually help in clearing their lungs."

Baden hopes the anti-toxin will help replace nebulizers with smaller inhalers. Legere said it's possible but more research is needed.

"It's not a magic bullet," Dr. Legere said. "This is a genetic disorder. Really what this is going to help hopefully is to control symptoms and reduce infections. And those two things alone will probably help with survival."

It could make treatment more convenient for patients and give doctors another tool in fighting cystic fibrosis.

Reported by Sara Staeten