The Alpha One Foundation is currently involved in an exciting Irish Research Council funded project in collaboration with Dublin City University Sport and MedEx Wellness. Eóin Durkan from the School of Health and Human Performance in DCU is examining the use of exercise in the treatment of people with Alpha-1 and COPD. Another aim of the project is to find out how physically active people with Alpha-1 are.

For the first time in history, the European Alpha-1 Community celebrates an EU Alpha-1 Awareness Day tomorrow 25th April 2018. The goal is to raise further understanding about this genetic condition. AATD is most common in individuals of Northern European and Iberian descent. Despite its high prevalence in Europe, patients and healthcare providers continue to be poorly informed about Alpha-1, and an overwhelming number of individuals are therefore not correctly diagnosed with Alpha-1.

Smoking is the number one risk factor for lung disease in those born with Alpha-1. The European Lung Foundation and the European Respiratory Society describe the benefits of quitting smoking in two excellent diagrams. Remember no matter how late in life one quits there are benefits to be gained. Avoiding smoking at all costs is incredibly important for anyone with Alpha-1. This is because if you have Alpha-1 and are a smoker, you will develop severe early onset lung disease in the form of COPD or emphysema. 
Find out more at: www.healthylungsforlife.org

The Annual Alpha-1 Patient Conference took place again this year in the Marino Institute of Education in Drumcondra in Dublin on Friday, October 20th. Over 60 Alphas and family members attended with plenty of familiar faces as well as a lot of first time attendees.