Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (AAT Deficiency)
Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, or AAT deficiency, is a condition that raises your risk for certain types of lung disease, especially if you smoke.
Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency
Alpha-1 antitrypsin (an-tee-TRIP-sin) deficiency, or AAT deficiency, is a condition that raises your risk for lung disease (especially if you smoke) and other diseases.
Some people who have severe AAT deficiency develop (em-fi-SE-ma) – often when they’re only in their forties or fifties. Emphysema is a serious lung disease in which damage to the airways makes it hard to breathe.
A small number of people who have AAT deficiency develop (sir-RO-sis) and other serious diseases.
is a disease in which the becomes scarred. The scarring prevents the from working well. In people who have AAT deficiency, cirrhosis and other liver diseases usually occur in infancy and early childhood.
A very small number of people who have AAT deficiency have a rare disease called necrotizing panniculitis (pa-NIK-yu-LI-tis). This disease can cause painful lumps under…