



"Unfortunately, right now there's really no good way to detect when someone's about to have an exacerbation," Whiteson said.

When CF patients visit the doctor, they inhale vaporized salt to induce deep coughing, producing a mucus sample. When clinical labs culture the microbes in these samples, they usually don't find big differences between the microbes that grow when CF patients are feeling healthy and when they are feeling sick, leaving doctors to choose antibiotic therapies based on trial and error. So the question that has plagued researchers is: What's different about the CF lung during these exacerbations?

Mystery Molecule






Better detection


"If you had a device to detect these metabolites, you'd know, 'Oh, it's time to take antibiotics again,'" she said.

Whiteson is currently working with a Silicon Valley biotech company, Metabolomx, to develop a microchip that can detect diacetyl or other indicators of imminent CF exacerbations. That won't be the final weapon in the battle against cystic fibrosis; it's a complex disease and the damage brought on by diacetyl is likely only one part of its profile. But it's a good step, she said.

"There's not just one thing that keeps you healthy," Whiteson said. "It's a constant battle going on."

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