A recent trial of a new treatment for cystic fibrosis (CF) has given 'a significant if modest benefit' for patients who experienced an improvement in lung function.

The results of the trial were very much appreciated by the Cystic Fibrosis Ireland, a body that represents the interests of those with the life-threatening lung disease.

The findings showed that patients that were taking the therapy noted an on average increase of 3.7% in lung function in the tests conducted by the UK Cystic Fibrosis Gene Therapy Consortium.

Katie Murphy, research and development officer with CF Ireland, said, "Any increase in lung function would be considered an advance. To see a 3.7 % increase in lung function is considered a promising finding".

CF patients can experience a 2% drop every year in lung function as the disease progresses, she said.

CF is an inherited chronic disease that affects majorly lungs and digestive system. There is about 1, 200 CF patients in Ireland and nearly 70, 000 people across the world, CF Ireland said.

It has been said that nearly ten thousand people suffering from the cystic fibrosis have got a new hope after a gene therapy was shown to reverse the condition.

The therapy is most likely to be made available within the next five years following a landmark trail. According to researchers it is the first such treatment that could improve the severe condition in which the lungs secrete thick mucus, clogging up the airways and triggering life-threatening infections.

The £3 million gene trial included 136 patients between the age of 12 and over. Professor Eric Alton, from Imperial College London, who coordinated the trial, said in a statement that it is for the first time in world where they have come across a significant benefit compared with placebo in cystic fibrosis patients.