A1AD is a genetic disorder that leads to a low level of alpha-1 antitrypsin protein in the blood, a protein that acts as a protective shield and blocks the activity of destructive enzymes. These enzymes can, in essence, chew up the lung tissue and destroy it when there's no protective shield. So patients have a deficiency in this protective shield that we think serves to inhibit damage. That destruction is also called emphysema.A large fraction of folks who have it and probably never get disease—particularly those who don't have risk factors like cigarette smoking. They may live a normal life without ever getting emphysema. Smoking increases the onset of symptoms by about 15 to 20 years. Most folks start to show disease somewhere between 30 and 50 years of age, which is young for emphysema to show up, and, again, most of them are smokers. Patients may get disease in their 50s, 60s, or 70s, but those are typically nonsmokers. It also affects the liver and causes GI Bleeding..
No one knows if Michael Jackson had Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency.
The only source for the claim is Ian Halperin, a writer who did a biography of Jackson. Halperin provided no evidence whatever for this claim, and Jackson's spokesman denied it as "a total fabrication."
Alpha-1 is considered rare in African Americans. However, the Alpha-1 Foundation recently awarded a grant to study the high rate of lung disease in African Americans, and to test them for Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency.
One of the articles i read said that he was founded with this disorder soon after the release of his album- Thriller. Due to deficiency of alpha- 1 antitrypsin, he was later on discovered with vitiligo- a skin disorder. This disease is caused due to loss of pigmentation in skin cells, which is seen with autoimmune disordes.
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