Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Palestinian platforms: Settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque complex under the protection of the occupation police
Palestinian platforms: The IOF detonated a booby-trapped robot east of the al-Zaytoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City
Syrian Defense: We call on all parties in Sweida to cooperate with security forces and exercise restraint
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese Army is continuing its investigations and will later announce any information that does not affect the confidentiality of the investigation
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: It has not yet been determined whether the detainees belong to ISIS or another organization
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Around 10 people of different nationalities, including Lebanese nationals, were detained
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese army arrested a number of people in the Matn area of Mount Lebanon with possession it has not disclosed
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: We have strong indications that there are martyrs, injuries, and trapped people in the Salah al-Din area
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Citizens should avoid Salah al-Din Street because anyone who approaches it is at risk of being directly targeted
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Reality is that there is a very limited retreat of the vehicles, with the occupation forces providing cover undeer fire up to Salah al-Din Street

New cystic fibrosis treatment may end suffering for patients

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 25 Sep 2022 15:53
4 Min Read

Trikafta/Kaftrio pill treatments are the new breakthrough in cystic fibrosis treatments as it may restore the patients' abilities to live normally again without organ transplants.

  • x
  • The triple-pill treatment (Trikafta)
    The triple-pill treatment (Trikafta)

While waiting for a lung transplant, cystic fibrosis patient David Fiant says he was on oxygen therapy and had a six-hour daily care regime, as well as three to four weeks of antibiotic infusions a year as part of his treatment that was so exhaustive he "could no longer tell if I was living to heal myself or healing myself to live."

He later became one of the first participants in the new triple-drug treatment praised as a pivotal moment for those suffering from the rare disorder, which was life-changing that when his doctor examined him after he started the therapy, he could hear air circulating in his lungs for the first time. 

Fiant described his trial with the new drug treatment, saying, "I took my first dose of the medicine one morning. By 3 pm I was feeling first effects," adding that he was able to shower by himself, climb 15 steps at once, and take his daughter "to buy comic books".

Following his triumph over his life-threatening condition, Fiant has since then become the president of the French non-profit Vaincre la Mucoviscidose (Defeat Cystic Fibrosis). Although he stated that the results were "spectacular", he underlined that a complete cure has still not been found for cystic fibrosis. 

Life expectancies at risk

The condition, which is transmitted by genetic inheritance, builds up sticky mucus in the lungs, digestive tract, and other organs leading to difficulty breathing and long-term complications, such as infection which can often be fatal. 

Related News

Life for Gaza's amputees is 'hellscape full of nightmarish scenes'

New test predicts breast cancer recurrence years ahead of scans

As a result, life expectancies are significantly impacted and become shorter than expected. More than 70,000 people worldwide suffer from this disease. 

Sold on the market as Trikafta in the US after its approval in 2019, its effects have proven to be major with the life expectancy of cystic fibrosis patients born between 2017 and 2021 in the US now being 53, as opposed to 38 a decade ago, according to the US non-profit organization the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

The triple-pill treatment was then approved by the European Union's medicines agency and by the UK in August 2020, where it was sold as Kaftrio. Both varieties have been applauded for targeting the underlying cause of the disease and repairing the mutation in the CFTR gene.

Its demand does have a downside. Out of the 7,500 cystic fibrosis patients in France, only 40% are able to use the treatment.

The reason is that the treatment has not been approved for children under the age of six, and 15% of patients have a genetic profile that the treatment won't work for. Moreover, approximately 900 individuals who received transplants of lungs or livers are also deemed ineligible.

"Do not forget us"

Sabrina Perquis, a cystic fibrosis patient in France, was excited to take the treatment until she found out that she could not use Kaftrio because of a transplant she had 15 years ago, calling it "a tough blow." 

"When you have had a transplant you live with a sword of Damocles hanging over your head because rejection is always possible," she said, adding, "We are asking not to be forgotten. Research must continue to find a solution for all patients."

Although several research studies are taking place and are at varying stages of development, questions still remain, such as whether the treatment completely blocks the disease's development or if it solely impedes it, according to Vaincre la Mucoviscidose Vice-President Pierre Foucaud. 

Cystic fibrosis patients who had an organ transplant fell from 21 to just 2 per quarter in France from the years 2019 to 2021, fueled by hopes that the Kaftrio treatment would make the transplant operation unnecessary. "But will these transplants merely be delayed by 10 to 15 years?" Foucaud asked. "We don't know," adding that Kaftrio has "opened up a tremendous hope for all patients" but more work needs to be conducted. 

  • Medical treatment
  • US
  • cystic fibrosis
  • European Union

Most Read

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Israeli soldiers are seen in Beit Hanoun ahead of an operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

'Israel' on blast as media exposes report discrepancies in Gaza ambush

  • Palestine
  • 8 Jul 2025
Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

  • Politics
  • 9 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as it departs for Gaza, where it aims to break the maritime blockade at a port in Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy on July 13, 2025. (AFP)
Palestine

Freedom Flotilla's Handala departs Sicily in bid to break Gaza siege

The container ship CMA CGM Laperouse, left, docks at the Georgia Ports Authority's Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga (AP)
Politics

US shipbuilding woes deepen as tariffs, outdated policies backfire

Gaza war raises ethical questions for ex-Obama, Biden officials
Politics

Mercenary firm tied to Gaza war crimes hires Obama-Biden PR operatives

'Israel' targets children in Gaza collecting water
Palestine

'Israel' strikes Gaza kids fetching water, blames it on 'malfunction'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS