GENETIC PREDISPOSITION TO CHRONIC POLYPOI D SINUSITIS AND DEFICIENCY TYPES OF ALPHA-1-PROTEASE INHIBITOR

Chronic polypoid sinusitis is often accompanied with bronchitis, asthm a and various allergies. All of these disorders have immunologic defec ts in common. The present study was devised to measure the genetically determined parameter of alpha-1-protease inhibitor by isoelectric foc using. Genetic polymorphism of alpha-l-antitrypsin is the source for b iochemically less active types of the protease inhibitor. In this inve stigation the alpha-l-protease inhibitor type of 86 patients from Nied ersaxony and 95 patients from Schleswig-Holstein was determined. All p atients required sinus surgery as treatment for chronic polypoid sinus itis. The alpha-1-protease inhibitor deficiency types PI-MS and PI-MS were found five times more frequently in patients from Niedersachsony and three times more often in patients from Schleswig-Holstein than in a control (normal) group of 127 subjects (p<0.01). These findings wer e comparable to data in other publications. Results clearly showed a c onnection between alpha-l-protease inhibitor deficiency types and chro nic polypoid sinusitis. These findings indicate that a genetic predisp osition to chronic polypoid sinusitis is somehow correlated with the g ene locus for alpha-1-protease inhibitor.