Deficiency of alpha1-antitrypsin and bronchiectasis.
60 consecutive patients with bronchiectasis were screened for alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency. Six cases (10%) with genotype PiMZ (alpha1-antitrypsin less than 66% of normal) were found. This frequency (10%) was statistically significantly (p less than 0.005) higher than the frequency of PiMZ (2.7%) in the control group. In two patients the bronchiectasis was cystic. It is suggested that the deficiency states of alpha1-antitrypsin promoting the proteolysis can participate in the genesis of bronchiectasis.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001987:Bronchiectasis / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019896:alpha 1-Antitrypsin Deficiency