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CHEST article reports that Alpha-1 research continues to provide lessons on COPD causes and potential treatments
Research on Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (Alpha-1) continues to bring discoveries that shed light on the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other diseases, according to a report in the May 2009 issue of the medical journal CHEST. The author is Alpha-1 Foundation Scientific Director Adam Wanner, MD.
The article points out that COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, affecting about 6 percent of the population, yet the causes of COPD are poorly understood.
Cigarette smoking has been identified as the major cause of COPD, but only a minority of smokers are affected. Genetic factors are suspected, “and the study of COPD genetics therefore is in full swing,” Wanner says in the article.
Unfolded alpha-1 protein due to the effects of tobacco smoke and inflammation of the lungs have both been shown to be typical of COPD in general as well as Alpha-1, the article continues.
Studies have also shown that AAT (alpha-1 protein) “appears to have broad antiinflammatory effects in humans,” the article says, and inhaled AAT has been shown to reduce inflammation in the lungs and neutrophils in the sputum of cystic fibrosis patients.
“With the likelihood that aerosol AAT will soon become available for clinical use, the idea of treating cystic fibrosis and COPD with (inhaled) AAT to prevent disease progression may not be far fetched,” Wanner suggests.
He concludes that Alpha-1 research could identify new drug targets for COPD, even if the disease is not associated with Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency.
