Stay Healthy To Prevent Problems
There is no cure for alpha-1. But healthy living and good health care can help you prevent problems and stay at your best:
- Get regular checkups and tests as recommended by your doctor.
- Avoid alcohol and tobacco smoke.
- Get vaccinated against hepatitis A and B, which can cause liver damage.
- Keep your diet and weight healthy.
Show Sources
Icipating Centers And Characteristics Of The Population
The EARCO international registry was launched in February 2020 and by May 2022 there were 47 recruiting centers in 15 countries. The database included 1079 individuals, of which 35 were excluded, 20 because there was no information about AAT genotype and 15 had a normal M allele, leaving 1044 subjects for analysis.
The most frequent genotype was PI*ZZ , followed by PI*SZ , PI*SS and rare variants . Regarding the Pi*ZZ participants, their mean age was 55.6 years : 13.2), the age at diagnosis was 44.7 years , and 51.5% were male. Only 1.8% were active workers and 72.8% were index cases , with lung disease reported by 81.4%. Emphysema was the most frequent lung disease followed by COPD and bronchiectasis , only 5 patients had panniculitis. The majority of Pi*ZZ participants were non exacerbators , and 29.3% had a history of pneumonia. Comorbidities were frequent, with an age corrected Charlson index of 3.3 and 26.1% had a cardiovascular disease .
Fig. 1
Frequency of exacerbations of lung disease in participants in the EARCO registry according to genotype. ZZ: non-augmented PI*ZZ ZZ: Augmented PI*ZZ
Articles On Aat Deficiency
If you have alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, also called alpha-1, you have a greater chance of liver disease.
Most people don’t have serious liver problems, though. And if you have a young child with alpha-1, they will most likely go on to enjoy a healthy childhood.
Your best defense is to live a healthy lifestyle and to work with your doctor to take good care of your liver problems, or ease problems if they do happen.
Read Also: Pancreatic Elastase Test Results 800 Ug/g
Babies And Aat Liver Problems
About 5% to 10% of babies with two broken genes will get liver disease during their first year.
But most children with this disorder grow up without major liver problems. Many never have symptoms. The disease may improve on its own by the teen years.
In rare cases, your child may need a liver transplant in the first few years of life.
Why Is The Alpha
It is not fully understood why we need alpha-1 antitrypsin or what its main task in the body is. Research has shown that it has a protective role in preventing tissue damage during acute inflammation. Proteases are chemicals in the body known as enzymes. They break proteins down. Alpha-1 antitrypsin stops the proteases from breaking down healthy tissues in the body. The body makes proteases in response to infections and irritants entering the body. Without the protective effect of alpha-1 antitrypsin, these proteases can cause tissue damage. This can happen over a period of many years. The lungs can be particularly affected because they may be exposed to chemicals in the air which can speed up damage.
Read Also: Best Supplements For Liver Health
What Is The Life Expectancy Of Someone With Alpha
The life expectancy of someone with Alpha-1 varies widely from person to person. Some people live a normal life span and some have life-threatening complications. Your prognosis will depend on:
- How quickly youre diagnosed.
- The type of Alpha-1 you have and how it affects your body.
- The amount of organ damage you have at diagnosis.
- How well your lungs are working.
- How quickly lung or liver disease is getting worse.
- If you smoke, whether or not you continue to smoke after diagnosis. Smoking reduces your life expectancy with Alpha-1.
How Do You Get It
Because AAT deficiency is an inherited disease, meaning it runs in families, it cannot be prevented. It can happen to anyone of any race or ethnicity. However, it is more common in white people of Northern-European backgrounds.
Everyone inherits two AAT genes, one gene from each parent. If you inherit a mutated, or changed gene from each parent, you will have AAT deficiency.
If you inherit a mutated AAT gene from one parent and a normal AAT gene from the other parent, you are a carrier for the condition. You might have lower levels of AAT protein in your blood, but you most likely will not have AAT deficiency. You might also pass the mutated gene to your children.
How AAT deficiency is inherited. In this image, both parents have a normal AAT gene and a mutated AAT gene . Each child has a 25% chance of inheriting two normal genes, a 50% chance of being a being carrier, and a 25% chance of inheriting two mutated AAT genes .
AAT deficiency is a complex disease, and many factors, some known, like smoking, and others still unknown, contribute to how it impacts different people. Sometimes, even if you inherit two mutated AAT genes, you may not have any symptoms or health problems. You may never even realize that you have AAT deficiency.
You may want to talk to a genetic counselor if you are planning to have children and think they are at risk of having AAT deficiency. A genetic counselor can answer questions about the risk and explain the choices that are available.
You May Like: Can You Survive From Pancreatic Cancer
Availability Of Data And Materials
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the EARCO group but restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under license for the current study, and so are not publicly available. Data are however available from the authors upon reasonable request and with permission of the EARCO steering committee.
Study Population And Data Collection
The patients were selected from the Swedish National AATD Registry, which was started in 1991 . Eligibility criteria for inclusion in the registry have been described previously . Briefly, all PiZZ individuals in Sweden aged 18 years and over, are invited to participate in the registry. After inclusion, the patients are followed-up every 2 years by their attending physician. Smoking habits, symptoms, diagnoses, results of lung function and liver function tests are reported to the registry via a questionnaire.
The initial reasons for AAT analysis leading to the diagnosis of severe AATD were obtained from the questionnaire. The patients identified by the presence of respiratory diseases or symptoms, including repeated respiratory tract infections, are referred to as “respiratory cases” . The patients identified because of other diseases or symptoms are referred to as “non-respiratory cases” . The NR cases include liver diseases, renal diseases, joint symptoms, repeated infections other than respiratory tract infection, high sedimentation rate, or other signs and symptoms for which plasma protein analysis has been performed as part of the clinical investigation. The patients identified by family/population screening are referred to as “screened cases” .
Don’t Miss: How To Improve Your Gut Microbiome
Questions To Ask Your Doctor
- Have you ever treated someone with this liver disease before?
- Since Alpha 1 is genetic, should my children be tested?
- Do I have liver damage?
- Will I need a liver transplant?
- Should I see a specialist to check my pulmonary functions?
- Should I see a specialist to check my cardiac health?
- Will I need augmentation therapy?
- What kinds of foods would best help my liver?
- Can you help me quit smoking?
- Are there any clinical trials available for my liver disease?
Life Expectancy In Alpha
There is no cure for the disease, but various treatment options are available to manage the disease and associated lung and liver problems. With appropriate treatment, most patients would be able to live a good life with normal life expectancy, work, play sports and exercise. The symptoms and complications of liver and lung damage can be managed medically. If patients are not diagnosed and treated appropriately, the disease can potentially lead to severe organ damage, which can be fatal.
Don’t Miss: How Many People Survive Pancreatic Cancer
How Common Is Alpha
Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency occurs worldwide, but its prevalence varies by population. This disorder affects about 1 in 1,500 to 3,500 individuals with European ancestry. It is uncommon in people of Asian descent. Many individuals with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency are likely undiagnosed, particularly people with a lung condition called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease . COPD can be caused by alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency however, the alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency is often never diagnosed. Some people with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency are misdiagnosed with asthma.
How Is It Treated
There is no cure for AAT deficiency, but there are treatments to slow the lung damage it causes.
You may need a lifelong treatment called augmentation therapy. This treatment raises the levels of the AAT protein in your lungs, using ATT protein taken from the blood of donors. This helps slow down lung damage. Side effects of this treatment are rare and may include a mild fever, headaches, nausea, and dizziness.
If you have COPD, you may also need medicines or other treatments. Talk to your doctor about ways to help prevent or delay lung damage, such as quitting smoking and avoiding secondhand smoke, dust, or air pollution.
Don’t Miss: How To Fix Gut Health
Why Does A1 Antitrypsin Destroy Lungs
Key Facts. Alpha-1-antitrypsin is a protein produced in the liver that protects the body’s tissues from being damaged by infection-fighting agents released by its immune system. In alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, the body’s normal production of AAT is reduced, resulting in the destruction of sensitive lung tissue …
How Aat Deficiency Is Diagnosed
If you are a young person with COPD or liver disease, your doctor may decide to give you a simple blood test to check for AAT deficiency. In most individuals with AAT deficiency, the warning signs of lung disease start to appear between the age of 30 or 40 years. Smokers with AAT deficiency tend to develop disease 10 or more years earlier than non-smokers.
Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease Guidelines recommend that all individuals with COPD, regardless of age or ethnicity, should be tested for AAT deficiency. If you have a close family membersuch as a parent or siblingwith AAT deficiency you should also be screened. Your doctor may order a screening blood test to check the level of alpha-1 antitrypsin in your body. If your levels are low, genetic testing with another blood test may be used to identify any abnormal genes. You will also likely have a lung function or spirometry test, a chest X-ray or CT scan of your lungs, blood testing of liver function and in some cases an ultrasound of the liver. If you have low levels of AAT but normal liver and lung function tests, you may not need treatment however, you will be monitored with repeat testing over time.
Recommended Reading: 4 Stages Of Liver Cancer
Study Population And Lung Function
Up to October 2008, a total of 1349 PiZZ individuals were included in the registry. Ten of them were excluded because of lung transplantation before being entered in the registry. The remaining 1339 individuals were included in the statistical analysis. The demographic baseline data and the results of lung function tests are shown in Table . The initial reasons for AAT analysis were: lung disease in 43% , liver disease and other diseases or symptoms in 32% , and family/population screening in 25% of cases . Among the NR cases 20% were identified because of liver disease and 80% because of other diseases or symptoms. The number of years between the diagnosis and inclusion in the register ranged from 0.1 to 35 years. At the time of inclusion, respiratory disease or respiratory symptoms were reported in 38% of the NR cases and in 30% of the S cases. The S cases were younger than the R and NR cases at the time of diagnosis and inclusion. Lung function at inclusion was significantly lower in the R cases than in the NR and S cases , while the difference between the NR and S cases was not significant. The mean follow-up time ranged from 0.1 to 17 years with no significant differences among the three groups.
Table 1 Demographic data of the study population and the results of lung function tests.
Are You Born With Alpha
Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency is a genetic condition, meaning it is transmitted through an abnormal gene from parent to child. This gene is an autosomal recessive gene, which means that if the mom and the dad both carry the gene, 1 out of 4 of their children will inherit alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.
Also Check: Supplements To Take After Gallbladder Removal
Fda Approved Treatment Medications For Aatd
The medication listed below have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration as orphan products for treatment of this condition.
Alpha1-Proteinase Inhibitor Manufactured by Grifols United States: FDA-approved indication: For chronic replacement therapy of individuals having congenital deficiency of alpha1- proteinase inhibitor with clinically demonstrable panacinar emphysema.
Alpha One Antitrypsin Deficiency Diagnosis
Alpha one antitrypsin is a genetic disorder which is associated with destruction of the cells of the lungs and the liver. Though difficult to diagnose there are certain risk factors associated with the condition,
Recommended Reading: How To Flush Your Gallbladder
What Are The Symptoms Of Alpha
Lung diseases caused by Alpha-1 have symptoms similar to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease . Lung symptoms usually start between the ages of 30 and 50 and include:
- Shortness of breath , especially with exercise or exertion.
- A whistling sound when you breathe .
- Chronic cough, often with mucus.
- Extreme tiredness.
- Frequent chest colds.
About 10% of infants and 15% of adults with Alpha-1 develop liver disease. Signs and symptoms of liver disease may include:
- Yellowing of the skin and eyes .
- Swelling in your legs or abdomen .
- Throwing up blood.
Rarely, your first symptoms of Alpha-1 are painful, red bumps on your skin . These can move around on your body and may break open, leaking fluid or pus.
Children Living With A1ad
Children are born with A1AD. Some infants may show signs of liver damage at birth or soon afterward. In other cases, symptoms might not develop until later in childhood or adulthood.
Inflammation of the liver, or hepatitis, can cause liver damage. It usually becomes apparent in the first few months of a babyâs life. Doctors may call this neonatal hepatitis.
A healthcare team carefully monitors the babyâs growth and development and weighs them weekly. They also measure their liver function with blood tests, scans, and sometimes a liver biopsy. This helps ensure that doctors recognize complications early on and can treat them promptly.
There is no definite way to know if a child will develop liver issues. If liver biopsies show that liver disease is worsening, doctors may recommend liver transplantation. The results of liver transplantation in children are excellent, with a 95% one-year survival rate.
Because A1AD is an inherited disease, the only way to prevent it is to undergo genetic counseling. This enables people to learn about the risks of passing the disease on to their children.
For those with A1AD, improving liver wellness may help reduce the effects of liver disease. This involves:
- maintaining a moderate weight
Also Check: Best Canned Cat Food For Pancreatitis
Can I Prevent Liver Disease From Alpha
Since AATD is an inherited genetic disorder, you cant prevent it.
But if youve received an AATD diagnosis, be sure to visit your doctor for regular health check-ins that include assessments of your liver function. This can help identify any signs of liver disease early.
You can also follow certain lifestyle strategies that protect your liver health, such as:
- abstaining from alcohol
- eating a nutritious, balanced diet
- staying up to date on hepatitis vaccinations
If AATD runs in your family, you may also consider genetic testing to find out whether youre carrying a copy of the Z variation of SERPINA1. This can help you determine the chances of any future children having the condition.
Symptoms And Signs Of Alpha
-
Neonates with jaundice or liver enzyme elevations
-
Patients with unexplained bronchiectasis or liver disease
Screening is usually done with genotyping. Diagnosis is confirmed by identifying serum alpha-1 antitrypsin levels & lt 80 mg/dL if measured by the radial immunodiffusion method or levels & lt 50 mg/dL if measured by nephelometry.
Also Check: Stage 4 Liver Cancer Survival Rates
Search For A Clinical Trial
Clinical trials are research studies that test how well new medical approaches work in people. Before an experimental treatment can be tested on human subjects in a clinical trial, it must have shown benefit in laboratory testing or animal research studies. The most promising treatments are then moved into clinical trials, with the goal of identifying new ways to safely and effectively prevent, screen for, diagnose, or treat a disease.
Speak with your doctor about the ongoing progress and results of these trials to get the most up-to-date information on new treatments. Participating in a clinical trial is a great way to contribute to curing, preventing and treating liver disease and its complications.
Start your search here to find clinical trials that need people like you.
Alpha One Antitrypsin Deficiency Treatment
AAT treatment depends upon symptoms of the condition. Augmentation therapy is found to be effective in patients with respiratory symptoms. In this therapy, the patient is injected with alpha one antitrypsin freshly prepared from human plasma, intravenously. In cases of patients with hepatic problems, liver transplant is recommended.
Also Check: Survival Rates Of Pancreatic Cancer
