November is Alpha-1 Awareness Month!
As many of you know I started writing this blog to share the journey my family is on dealing with Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency. Alpha-1 is a genetic condition that is passed on by parents to their children through their genes and can cause serious liver disease in children and liver and/or lung disease in adults. Alpha-1 antitrypsin is a protein that is produced mostly in the liver. Its primary function is to protect the lungs from neutrophil elastase. Neutrophil elastase is an enzyme that normally serves a useful purpose in lung tissue-it digests damaged or aging cells and bacteria to promote healing. However, if left unchecked, it will also attack healthy lung tissue. Alpha-1 antitrypsin, in sufficient amounts, will trap and destroy neutrophil elastase before it has a chance to begin damaging the delicate lung tissue. Consequently, if an individual doesn't have enough alpha-1 antitrypsin, the enzyme goes unchecked and attacks the lung. My Dad was diagnosed in 2008 and...