Alpha-1 Foundation, AARC Cooperate on Study to Test 5,000 COPD Patients f...(care. Thomas Kallstrom AARC Chief Op...),Health

Thomas Kallstrom, AARC Chief Operating Officer, is the study coordinator for the AARC. "The involvement of respiratory therapists in this process is a natural relationship," Kallstrom said. "We're proud to be part of this monumental study."

The Alpha-1 Foundation and the AARC cooperated to propose, design and run the study, which will enroll 5,000 people at 15 academic sites around the United States. To be eligible, a patient must have been referred for pulmonary function testing at the site. Any patient meeting COPD criteria (as defined by GOLD, the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease) will be offered enrollment in the study.

The study requires only about 30 minutes of the subject's time, and participants will receive the results. If they are positive for Alpha-1, they will receive educational information about the condition and will be encouraged to call a toll-free number to speak with the Alpha-1 genetic counselor at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Epidemiology and AAT genotyping for the study will be done at the University of Florida Alpha-1 Genetics Laboratory run by Mark L. Brantly, MD. Data coordination and statistical analysis will be done by James Murphy, PhD, at National Jewish.

Jorge Zamudio, MD, is the Alpha-1 Foundation coordinator.

The study is supported in part by an unrestricted charitable contribution from Talecris Biotherapeutics.
Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link. Mark Brantly http://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=54431 Charlie Strange http://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=54427 Michael Campos