Using MRI to Observe Lung Changes in Infants With CF Compared to Infants Without CF

Our research is comparing the lungs of babies and young children with CF (cystic fibrosis) to those without CF. We are looking at the blood flow in the lungs to help doctors better understand how CF damages lungs and how to prevent this damage in the future. We will use MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and special blood tests as ways to understand early changes in the lungs of babies and young children with CF. We will look at the special blood tests to see if they can work as signals for the doctors to better understand when changes are happening in the lungs. For the babies with CF, we will compare MRI images of the lungs to their CT images (also sometimes called CAT scans or Computerized Tomography). We hope that this study will help us reduce the number of X-rays and CT scans children with CF might get in the future. Because MRI's do not use radiation, this could reduce the amount of radiation exposure that children with CF would get over their lifetime.