Edited by James R. Yankaskas and Michael R. Knowles. 506 pp., illustrated. Philadelphia, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 1999. $99.95. ISBN 0-7817-1011-1.
Forty years ago, prospects were bleak for a patient with cysticfibrosis, which was then an invariably fatal disease of earlychildhood. Patients seldom survived beyond infancy; they succumbedto malnutrition and pulmonary complications. Nonetheless, afew centers initiated an aggressive, comprehensive approachto the care of patients with cystic fibrosis that introducedsymptomatic treatments designed to slow the progression of thedisease. Since that time, their clinical condition has improved.Although some patients still die early in life, many otherslive well into adulthood. Better diagnostic techniques and refinementsof therapeutic strategies have combined to increase the medianage . . . [Full Text of this Article]
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