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The American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI) has published for the first time a special supplement to its medical journal, Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, titled "Hereditary Angioedema: A Current State-of-the-Art Review." The nearly 50 page publication sheds new light on this often misunderstood disease. Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is a rare, life-threatening, genetic disease caused by the deficiency of the C1 inhibitor plasma protein, which controls inflammation. It is characterized by random episodes of disfiguring and painful swelling of the extremities, face, abdomen, urogenital tract and - most dangerously - laryngeal tract. Patients with the disease struggle with an often uninformed medical community and inadequate treatment options. "Now more than ever, with several new treatments on the horizon, there is a need to advance our educational efforts to physicians about HAE. We believe this supplement is an important milestone for the allergy community and the patients who suffer from this debilitating and potentially fatal disease," said Jonathan A. Bernstein, MD, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, who served as guest editor of the supplement. "With an estimated U.S. patient population at as many as 10,000 - and possibly thousands more - HAE is a rare disorder that is now finally getting the attention it deserves." The current means of preventing HAE attacks is treatment with anabolic steroids, which come with significant side effects, such as liver toxicity, carcinogenicity and virilization; there is currently no approved therapy for reducing the severity or duration of attacks once they occur. "Hereditary Angioedema: A Current State-of-the-Art Review" provides data on emerging therapies that hold promise for those suffering with HAE; particularly two new treatments that are currently under review at the FDA. "The ACAAI is proud to serve as a leader in advancing our understanding about HAE, with experts in the field doing hard work to bring real solutions to those suffering from this disease," said Richard Gower, MD, an allergy specialist in Spokane, Wash., and ACAAI president-elect. "In the US, patients with HAE have had access only to supportive care and inadequate preventive care, but we are now on the brink of providing effective treatments for attacks and even therapies to prevent attacks, helping these patients return to a life of relative normalcy." Michael M. Frank, MD, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, N.C., one of the authors featured in the publication, concludes that "the outlook for the new, effective short-term therapy appears to be excellent. In the future, a whole new therapeutic armamentarium to care for patients with HAE should be available in the United States."
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