Doctors develop new treatment for cystic fibrosis

Antibiotic nose drops given to Israeli children and adults born with cystic fibrosis have reversed the effects of a defective gene that causes the disease in 60% of Ashkenazi (European) Jews who have cystic fibrosis and 5% of all cases worldwide.

The results of a two week pilot study, conducted on nine patients aged 12 to 42 by two researchers at Jerusalem's Shaare Zedek Medical Centre, have been called a “significant breakthrough” in the search for a cure for a type of cystic fibrosis to which …