Rare Genetic Flaw Made Some 9/11 Rescuers More Sick

A study showed World Trade Center rescue workers deficient in a protein key to healing in the lungs and liver saw a more rapid decline in their lung functions after exposure to environmental irritants, scientists told the America College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) Monday. Dr. Gisela Banauch of the Montefiore Medical Center in New York told the group's 72nd annual convention in Salt Lake City that a genetic disorder known as alpha-1 antitrypsin, or A1AT, triggers a protein deficiency that led to unchecked inflammation in the lungs and livers of some rescue workers. "A1AT deficiency is a ...