Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) have developed a new method that can quickly and easily predict which therapies are more suited for cystic fibrosis patients.

Their study, “Nasospheroids permit measurements of CFTR-dependent fluid transport,” which appeared in the Journal of Clinical Investigation Insight, opens up new possibilities for personalized and individualized medicine for this patient population.

Past advances have given CF patients improved therapies that improve and prolong their lives. However, CF is a complex disease linked to more than 2,000 genetic mutations in the sequence of the CFTR gene.