Alpha-1-antitrypsin and other proteinase inhibitors.

Since the end of the 1980s augmentation therapy with alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) from human plasma has been available for specific treatment of emphysema due to AAT deficiency. Intravenous augmentation therapy has demonstrated to be safe and weekly infusions of AAT have demonstrated to result in plasma AAT concentration above those considered protective for the lungs. Randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials have confirmed a reduction in the decline in lung density in patients receiving augmentation therapy. This is the first example of an antiprotease effective in restoring the protease/antiprotease imbalance in the lungs and changing the natural history of congenital emphysema. On the basis of the results obtained with the long-term infusion of AAT, there is growing interest in the possible use of antiprotease treatment in patients with smokers COPD. However, no drugs are yet available to increase antiprotease protection of the lower airways of smokers.