October 11, 2000

1 min read

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Sinus Infections and Cystic Fibrosis Linked

By Kate Wong

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Some people who suffer from chronic sinus infections may be predisposed to them because they carry the same genetic mutation that causes cystic fibrosis (CF), according to a report published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that among 147 patients who visited Hopkins because of chronic sinusitis, 7 percent carried a copy of the mutated gene responsible for CF, known as CFTR.

Researchers have known for some time that CF results when a person inherits the CFTR gene from both parents. "But we've long wondered if having just one mutant CFTR gene has any health effect," says team member Garry R. Cutting. Based on the new results, the team estimates that individuals carrying a single CFTR gene are twice as likely as non-carriers to develop repeated sinus infections. "That said, we don't recommend that everyone with chronic sinus problems get their CFTR genes tested. The research is still at an early stage," Cutting cautions. "The knowledge may prove useful therapeutically, however. Some sinusitis patients might be helped by treatments developed for CF. Further, genetic testing may allow us to single out patients with the most severe form of chronic sinusitis, those who may benefit from therapy aimed precisely at their underlying problem."

Kate Wong is an award-winning science writer and senior editor for features at Scientific American, where she has focused on evolution, ecology, anthropology, archaeology, paleontology and animal behavior. She is fascinated by human origins, which she has covered for nearly 30 years. Recently she has become obsessed with birds. Her reporting has taken her to caves in France and Croatia that Neandertals once called home to the shores of Kenya’s Lake Turkana in search of the oldest stone tools in the world, as well as to Madagascar on an expedition to unearth ancient mammals and dinosaurs, the icy waters of Antarctica, where humpback whales feast on krill, and a “Big Day” race around the state of Connecticut to find as many bird species as possible in 24 hours. Wong is co-author, with Donald Johanson, of Lucy’s Legacy: The Quest for Human Origins. She holds a bachelor of science degree in biological anthropology and zoology from the University of Michigan. Follow her on Bluesky @katewong.bsky.social

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