How Is Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency Treated?
Alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency has no cure.
However, the lung diseases linked to this inherited condition have many
treatments. Most of these treatments are the same as the ones given to people
who have lung diseases without AAT deficiency.
If you have
emphysema or other lung diseases or symptoms related to AAT
deficiency, your doctor may recommend:
- Medicines called inhaled bronchodilators
(brong-ko-di-LA-tors) that help open your airways and make breathing easier.
These medicines also are used to treat
asthma
and
chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease.
- Flu and pneumococcus (noo-mo-KOK-us) vaccines to
protect you from diseases that could make your condition worse.
- Pulmonary rehabilitation (rehab). This involves
treatment by a team of experts at a special clinic. In rehab, you learn how to
manage your condition and function at your best.
- Extra oxygen if needed.
- A lung transplant. You may need a transplant if
your lung is so badly damaged that it severely affects your breathing. If you
have a good chance of surviving the transplant surgery, you may be a candidate
for it.
Augmentation therapy is a type of treatment given
only to people who have AAT-related lung diseases. This therapy involves
getting infusions of the AAT protein. This raises the level of the protein in
your blood and lungs.
Not enough research has been done to show whether
this type of therapy works. However, some suggest that this therapy may slow
the development of AAT deficiency in people who don't have severe disease.
People who have AAT deficiency and develop related
liver or skin diseases will be referred to doctors who treat those diseases.
Future Treatments
Researchers are working on possible treatments that
will target the altered AAT genes and replace them with healthy genes. These
treatments are in early stages of development.
If you're interested, talk to your doctor about
whether any clinical trials of new AAT treatments might be right for you.
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