Raising awareness about Cystic Fibrosis

Preston Campbell III, M.D.

More than 80 people turned out recently for the 2008 Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Family Education Day at the Durham Research Center.

The day’s events were aimed at raising awareness about the disease and its treatments.

Preston Campbell III, M.D., vice president of medical affairs for the National Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF), served as the keynote speaker and described the strides taking place in the realm of CF.

“I am very excited about where we are,” Dr. Campbell said. “I think we are going to change the face of CF and have a chance to enable patients and cure this disease.”

Cystic fibrosis is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the United States (70,000 worldwide). A defective gene and its protein product cause the body to produce unusually thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections and obstructs the pancreas and stops natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food.

The CFF was created in 1955 with the intent of improving care for CF patients and learning more about the disease.

UNMC was home to the first CF care center west of the Mississippi, Dr. Campbell said. The CF care center at UNMC receives about $130,000 annually from the national CFF, with roughly 60 percent of this going to the pediatrics CF program and 40 percent to the adult program.

“I’m really confident we are in the process of changing this disease and I am a strong believer we are quickly making this a disease people can live with.” Preston Campbell III, M.D.

John Colombo, M.D., professor of pediatric pulmonology and director of the Nebraska Regional Cystic Fibrosis Center, heads the pediatric CF program while Peter Murphy, M.D., assistant professor, heads the adult program. The pediatric program sees around 190 patients annually and the adult program about 105 patients.

Last year, a national review of cystic fibrosis centers by the CFF showed that the UNMC adult CF program ranked among the eight top benchmark programs in the country. Another 2007 report indicated that UNMC’s pediatric program ranked among the top 10 percent of pediatric programs in the country.

Dr. John Colombo, left, directs the pediatric CF program at UNMC, while Dr. Peter James (Jim) Murphy heads the adult CF program.

“It is critical to join arms and put an end to this disease,” Dr. Campbell said. “I’m really confident we are in the process of changing this disease and I am a strong believer we are quickly making this a disease people can live with.”

Dr. Colombo said he was pleased that Dr. Campbell was able to address the crowd at UNMC’s CF Day.

“There is no one in the world who knows more and has their finger on the pulse of CF research than Dr. Preston Campbell,” Dr. Colombo said.