Local scientist shaping CF patient care
Over the years there have been many improvements made in the treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF), a genetic disease that impacts the lungs and digestive system of affected patients, impacting their lifespan. Findings such as the 1989 Canadian discovery of the gene responsible for CF open the door to new opportunities for research that inspire novel ways to look at CF patient care, treatment plans and cures.
Many Canadian clinicians and scientists are actively involved in these global efforts, trying to unearth what lies behind this disease and its many mutations, which is why prospective new treatments for CF originate from right here in Ontario.
A local standout scientist has garnered world-wide attention: Ottawa’s own Dr. Shawn Aaron, Senior Scientist at The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Head of Respiratory Medicine at The Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa. He has made a discovery that now impacts the medical care of CF patients.
“Many patients with cystic fibrosis experience periodic cycles of good health and exacerbations, where symptoms get much worse. It was unclear what caused such flare-ups so I looked at the role that strains of bacteria may play in those infections,” explains Dr. Aaron.
Working with his team he made amajor breakthrough studying a common bacteria often found in the lungs of CF patients. P. aeruginosa spreads through coughing, doesn’t harm healthy people but has an adverse effect in CF patients, oftentimes leading to permanent lung damage and dire health consequences. It is believed that healthy individuals – and even family pets – may harbour the virus, stressing the importance of infection protection measures.
“People with cystic fibrosis are used to taking many precautions against infection, as do their family members and caregivers; this study emphasizes just how essential these efforts are,” said Dr. Aaron.
Dr. Aaron and his team were able to identify that in Ontario, 15per cent of CF patients were affected with the same strain of P. aeruginosa, highlighting the fact that not only does the bacteria spread between CF patients but that this particularly virulent strain – previously known to exist only in the U.K. – was now making CF patients in North America very ill. The potency of this strain is such that people with CF affected by it are twice as likely to require a lung transplant or die within three years, as opposed to patients affected with a different strain.
These findings have already begun to shape how CF patients are cared for in Ontario and around the world; some CF patients now use videoconferencing for their group meetings to limit the further spread of P. aeruginosa, and it has led to a new approach to treat the lung “flare-ups.”
The breakthrough has further fuelled Dr. Aaron’s work. He, along with many others, are now looking at P. aeruginosa from various angles, trying to stop its progression and trying to develop novel treatment approaches and drug therapies, in the hope to provide CF patients with a brighter and lengthier future. Dr. Aaron and his team are now also conducting new studies to examine the effects of viral respiratory infections on patients with CF.