© 2004 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd & British Thoracic Society
EDITORIAL
Pi MZ and COPD
Pi MZ and COPD: will we ever know?
Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr N Seersholm
Pulmonary Department Y, Gentofte Hospital, Niels Andersens Vej 65, DK-2900 Hellerup, Denmark; seersholm@dadlnet.dk
Based on the current evidence, there is no reason to believe that Pi MZ individuals have an increased risk of developing lung disease as long as they do not smoke
Keywords: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; 
1-antitrypsin; genetics; heterozygote
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
Is Pi MZ a risk factor for the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)? That is the question many authors have tried to answer during the last decades, but the results of published studies are still conflicting.
A very high percentage of patients with COPD have been smokers, but not all smokers develop COPD. There must be other contributing factors and, with a Pi MZ prevalence of 3–5% in many Western countries, it is relevant to determine whether this genotype is an additional risk factor for COPD.1 Furthermore, if a dose-response relation exists, it is biologically plausible since plasma levels of 1-antitrypsin (AAT) are reduced to about 60% in Pi MZ subjects compared with those with the normal Pi MM genotype, and Pi Z individuals with very low levels of AAT have a significantly increased risk for emphysema.
There are a number of reasons for
CiteULike 
Complore 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us 
Digg 
Reddit 
Technorati What's this?
Relevant Article
- Airwaves
- Wisia Wedzicha
Thorax 2004 59: 821a.[Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]
This article has been cited by other articles:
-
Silva, G. E., Guerra, S., Keim, S., Barbee, R. A., Sherrill, D. L.
(2008). Longitudinal Decline of Diffusing Capacity of the Lung for Carbon Monoxide in Community Subjects With the PiMZ {alpha}1-Antitrypsin Phenotype. Chest
133: 1095-1100
[Abstract] [Full Text] -
Dahl, M, Nordestgaard, B G, Seersholm, N
(2005). {alpha}1-Antitrypsin genotype unaffected by age * Authors' reply. Thorax
60: 258-259
[Full Text]
eLetters:
Read all eLetters
- "MZ Alpha1-Antitrypsin Genotype Unaffected by Age"
- Morten Dahl
- Thorax Online, 2 Nov 2004 [Full text]
- Authors' reply
- Niels Seersholm
- Thorax Online, 19 Nov 2004 [Full text]
- Full Text
- Full Text (PDF)
- Alert me when this article is cited
- Alert me if a correction is posted
- Citation Map
Services
- Email this link to a friend
- Similar articles in this journal
- Similar articles in PubMed
- Add article to my folders
- Download to citation manager
- Request Permissions
Citing Articles
Google Scholar
PubMed
Topic Collections
-
Epidemiologic studies
-
Health education
-
Smoking
-
Tobacco use
-
Genetic screening / counselling
- Relevant Article
Bookmark with
Register for free content
The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.
Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.
