Cystic fibrosis in adults [editorial].

Cystic fibrosis is the commonest semilethal genetic disorder in Caucasians. The biochemical 
sequence that leads to widespread dysfunction of exocrine glands has yet 
to be determined. Cystic fibrosis in adults has been the subject 
of extensive review. We still do not know the cause of 
the changes in the lungs. Pancreatic insufficiency was recorded in 95% 
of the patients, but the older ones needed little dietary restriction 
and some seemed to thrive without pancreatic replacement. Ninety-five per cent 
of males have aspermia due to failure of development of the 
vas deferens, epididymis, and seminal vesicles. Despite the obvious handicap and 
emotional and social strains in all four series, adolescent and adult 
patients with cystic fibrosis not only did well at school and 
at work but managed to fit in well in their social 
framework. 