Alpha-1 diagnosis is often missed

Most people with Alpha-1 suffer with symptoms diagnosed as something else. Which of these symptoms look familiar?5

  • Shortness of breath
  • Wheezing
  • Chronic cough and phlegm (chronic bronchitis)
  • Recurring chest colds or pneumonia
Check your symptoms

How Prevalent Is Alpha-1?

Alpha-1 may be more common than you think but it is rarely diagnosed.1 Up to 25 million Americans are estimated to have an abnormal gene for the production and release of AAT.2 Out of that 25 million, up to 100,000 may have Alpha-1, and 95,000 of them remain undiagnosed.3

You have Alpha-1 if you inherited an abnormal gene from both your mother and your father. Alpha-1 raises your risk of getting lung disease.2

Alpha-1 can lead to serious lung, liver, and skin diseases

If you have emphysema, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or chronic bronchitis, it may have been caused by Alpha-1.

Carriers are at increased risk, too

You are an Alpha-1 carrier if you inherited 1 abnormal gene from one of your parents. If you are an Alpha-1 carrier and only inherited 1 abnormal gene, compared with people with normal AAT genes, you have:

  • A higher-than-normal risk of lung disease2,4

next: Symptoms & Diseases Caused by Alpha-1 >

Important Safety Information
Prolastin-C, Alpha1-Proteinase Inhibitor (Human) is for adults who have emphysema caused by inherited alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency. The effect of therapy with any alpha1-proteinase inhibitor (alpha1-PI) on pulmonary exacerbations and on the progression of emphysema in alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency has not been demonstrated in randomized, controlled clinical trials.

Prolastin-C may contain trace amounts of IgA. IgA deficient patients with antibodies against IgA should not receive Prolastin-C due to the risk of hypersensitivity.

The most common side effects during clinical trials with Prolastin-C were chills, a general feeling of being unwell, headache, rash, hot flush, and itching.

Prolastin-C is made from human plasma. Products made from human plasma may carry a risk of transmitting infectious agents, e.g., viruses, and, theoretically, the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) agent.

Please see accompanying Prolastin-C Full Prescribing Information for complete prescribing details.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

References
  1. de Serres FJ. Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency is not a rare disease but a disease that is rarely diagnosed. Environ Health Perspect. 2003;111:1851-1854.
  2. de Serres FJ, Blanco I, Fernández-Bustillo E. Genetic epidemiology of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency in North America and Australia/New Zealand: Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States of America. Clin Genet. 2003:64:382-397.
  3. Campos MA, Wanner A, Zhang G, Sandhaus RA. Trends in the diagnosis of symptomatic patients with alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency between 1968 and 2003. Chest. 2005;128(3):1179-1186.
  4. Yang P, Sun Z, Krowka MJ, et al. Alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency carriers, tobacco smoke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer risk. Arch Intern Med. 2008;168:1097-1103.
  5. Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency: A Guide For The Recently Diagnosed Individual. Alpha-1 Foundation. Version 1.6, December 2006.