Clin Med
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Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common multi-system inherited disorder, with a UK population exceeding 9,000. There have been significant improvements in CF survival over the decades, attributed to improvements in therapies available, our understanding of the disease and better organisation of care. CF care providers have been early advocates for successful healthcare transition from the paediatric to adult sector and CF can be considered a model process where a paediatric disease has now become an adult one. This article looks at the transition process in CF and the future challenges CF physicians will face.
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Asthma is a heterogeneous condition with multiple phenotypes that respond to treatments in different ways. Allergic asthma is an important phenotype and although currently available treatments are effective, about 5% of affected patients have severe, treatment-refractory disease. ⋯ Clinical trials are ongoing with novel biologic agents that demonstrate potential efficacy; determining the subsets of patients for which they are suitable will be crucial to ensure cost effectiveness. Personalised medicine and targeted therapies may hold the key to long-term control in this group of patients.