LA JOLLA, CA, Feb. 13, 2016 – The American Thoracic Society’s Public Advisory Roundtable (ATS PAR) and its partners, the Alpha-1 Foundation and the University of California San Diego, will host the Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency Patient Education Event at UC San Diego Health. The event is being held in conjunction with the “Alpha-1 Week at the ATS” program, an educational activity designed to foster communication between clinicians, patients and patient advocates on lung and airway disorders such as Alpha-1 and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Katie Moyer, 66, was diagnosed 13 years ago with Alpha-1. In the year prior to learning her diagnosis, she had five bouts of pneumonia. She had never heard of Alpha-1: “I was thinking I was going to have to get my affairs in order.” Today she’s doing better, and is looking forward to the Alpha-1 Patient Education Event: “The knowledge of Alphas is pretty incredible and it’s because of programs like the February 13th event,” she said.
“The Alpha-1 Week at the ATS is the kick-off event to a series of lung disease weeks in 2016,” said Courtney White, one of the event organizers and director, ATS PAR. “At ATS we believe the patient perspective is integral to our mission and so we’re pleased to provide this opportunity for Alpha-1 patients and their family members to engage with advocates and leading specialists in lung health.”
“Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, or Alpha-1, is the most common known genetic form of COPD, ” said Karen Erickson, the Alpha-1 Foundation’s associate executive director of community engagement. “This Patient Education Event will help raise awareness of this condition, and we urge anyone with COPD to get tested, to find out if Alpha-1 is the cause.”
Alpha-1 not only causes lung disease, but can also lead to liver disease. Jesse Young, 30, a liver-affected Alpha who is a transplant recipient, married his donor and started a family. His advice for other Alphas: “It can work out. It’s not a death sentence.”
WHERE: UC San Diego Health, Room 1-001, First Floor
East Campus Office Building (ECOB), 9444 Medical Center Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037
DATE & TIME: February 13 at 9:00 AM – 2:30 PM, PT
Program highlights include:
11:15 AM– 11:35 AM The Effects of E-Cigarettes on COPD/A1AD— Laura Crotty-Alexander, MD
11:55 AM – 12:15 PM The Global Burden of Disease – ATS President Atul Malhotra, MD
To register for the event, contact Karen Erickson at kerickson@alpha1.org no later than Tuesday, Feb. 9.
To register to listen to the live broadcast of the event, contact Courtney White at cwhite@thoracic.org
Reporters interested in attending: Please contact Dacia Morris at dmorris@thoracic.org or Bradley Bennett at Bbennett@alpha1.org.
To speak with someone who has Alpha-1 or a presenter: Please contact Bradley Bennett at Bbennett@alpha1.org
