Alpha-1 antitrypsin is a protein in the blood that protects the lungs from damage caused by activated enzymes.
Alpha-1 antitryps helps to inactivate several enzymes, the most important of which is elastase.
What is elastase?
Elastase is an enzyme produced by white blood cells called neutrophils and is part of the body's normal response to injury and inflammation. Elastase breaks down proteins so that they can be removed and recycled by the body. If its action is not regulated by Alpha-1 antitrypsin, elastase will also begin to break down and damage lung tissue.
Inherited genes that code for Alpha-1 antitrypsin:
Each individual inherits two copies of the gene that codes for Alpha-1 antitrypsin. It is called the protease inhibitor (SERPINA1) gene. This gene is co-dominant, which means that each SERPINA1 gene copy is responsible for producing half of the body's Alpha-1 antitrypsin. If there is a change or mutation in one or both of the gene copies, then less Alpha-1 antitrypsin and/or Alpha-1 antitrypsin with reduced function is produced.
Low Alpha-1 antitrypsin production:
When Alpha-1 antitrypsin production drops below 30% of normal, the affected person will experience a disorder called alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. People with this disorder are at a considerable risk of developing emphysema, a progressive lung disease, in early adulthood. If they smoke or are exposed to occupational dust or fumes, the lung damage tends to occur sooner and be more severe.
Certain types of dysfunctional Alpha-1 antitrypsin accumulate in the liver cells, where it is produced. As Alpha-1 antitrypsin builds up in these cells, it forms abnormal protein chains and begins to destroy the cells and damage the liver. About 10% of newborns with Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency have liver damage and are jaundiced. In severe cases, these infants may require a liver transplant to survive. Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency is currently the most common genetic cause of liver disease in the pediatric population.
Increased risk for chronic liver disease:
In adults with Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, the risk of developing chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, and liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma) is increased. Few adults with Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency actually have signs or symptoms of liver disease, however. The amount and function of the Alpha-1 antitrypsin depends on the gene mutation that is inherited. While there are more than 120 different alleles in the SERPINA1 gene, only a few are common. Most people in the U.S., about 90%, have two copies of the normal "wild type" M gene (MM). The most common abnormal genes are labeled S and Z.
Alpha-1-Antitrypsin is an acute phase reactant. This means that it will be elevated in acute and chronic inflammatory conditions, infections, and with some cancers. Increased levels of Alpha-1-Antitrypsin may also be seen with oral contraceptive use, pregnancy, and stress. These temporary or chronic Alpha-1-Antitrypsin increases may cause levels to appear normal in people with mild to moderate Alpha-1-Antitrypsin deficiency.
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If your results show a lower than normal amount of Alpha-1 antitrypsin, it probably means you have one or two mutated Alpha-1 antitrypsin genes. The lower the level, the more likely it is you have two mutated genes and Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.
- Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency is caused by an inherited gene mutation.
- Infants may develop jaundice and liver damage.
- Cirrhosis can develop during childhood.
- Adults commonly develop emphysema, with shortness of breath, wheezing, and coughing, and some adults develop cirrhosis.
- Tests that measure the amount of the enzyme in the blood and that detect the gene mutations are used for diagnosis.
- People with emphysema take drugs to improve breathing and sometimes receive infusions of alpha-1 antitrypsin by vein.
- Some people need lung or liver transplants.
Less than 125 mg/dL:
If clinically indicated, patients with serum levels less than 125 mg/dL should be proteotyped in order to identify heterozygous individuals. Heterozygotes do not appear to be at increased risk for early emphysema.
Less than 70 mg/dL:
People with serum levels less than 70 mg/dL may have a homozygous deficiency and are at risk for early lung disease. Alpha-1-antitrypsin proteotyping should be done to confirm the presence of homozygous deficiency alleles.
What does homozygous and heterozygotes mean?
Alternative forms of a given gene are called alleles, and they can be dominant or recessive. When an individual has two of the same allele, whether dominant or recessive, they are homozygous. Heterozygous means having one each of two different alleles.
Low alpha-1-antitrypsin levels may result from liver disease, and alpha-1-antitrypsin proteotyping should be done to confirm deficiency disease.
Potential symptoms:
Symptoms may first appear during infancy, childhood, or adulthood. About 10 to 20% of affected people have symptoms during infancy. Affected infants develop yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes (jaundice) and an enlarged liver during the first week of life. Jaundice disappears at about age 2 to 4 months. However, about 20% of these infants later develop cirrhosis, and some die before reaching adulthood.
Adults commonly develop emphysema, with progressively increasing shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, coughing, and wheezing. Emphysema rarely develops before age 25. It develops earlier and is more severe in smokers than in nonsmokers. The severity of symptoms also varies depending on the form of the deficiency, other disorders people have, environmental exposure to lung irritants, and other factors. If people have never smoked, their symptoms tend to be moderate, and most have a normal life expectancy.
Even if they did not have liver problems during infancy, about 10% of adults develop cirrhosis, which may eventually lead to liver cancer.
People with panniculitis have painful, tender bumps or discolored patches on the lower abdomen, buttocks, and thighs. The bumps may feel hard to the touch.
Potential treatment:
Emphysema: People who smoke are advised to stop. Bronchodilators, drugs that relax the muscles around the small airways and thus widen the airways, such as albuterol may help ease breathing and relieve cough. Lung infections that develop are treated promptly.
Alpha-1 antitrypsin may be given by vein to replace the deficient enzyme. It is collected from a group of donors and screened for bloodborne disorders. Thus, it is expensive and is most beneficial to people who have only moderate symptoms due to emphysema and do not smoke. This treatment is thought to prevent further damage but does not reverse damage already done.
If people are younger than 60 and have severe symptoms, lung transplantation may be done. A few medical centers sometimes do transplantations in highly selected people as old as 70. A few medical centers also sometimes do lung volume reduction surgery.
Liver damage: Taking alpha-1 antitrypsin does not treat or prevent liver damage because liver damage is caused by production of an abnormal enzyme, not by enzyme deficiency. If the liver is severely damaged, liver transplantation may be done. The transplanted liver does not become damaged because the alpha-1 antitrypsin it produces is normal and thus does not accumulate in the liver.
Panniculitis: Doctors may give corticosteroids, antimalarial drugs, or certain antibiotics (tetracyclines) to relieve inflammation. But whether these drugs are effective is unclear.
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Easily upload lab results from any provider, whether it's a hospital, independent lab, or home testing service. We support PDFs, scanned documents, and JPEGs from patient portals. No need to log in to multiple platforms — everything is centralized in one secure space.
Easily upload lab results from any provider — we support PDFs, scans, and images. Keep all your reports organized in one secure place.
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Every lab result is automatically organized on a chronological timeline, giving you a complete picture of your health journey. Whether you're tracking a condition, managing treatments, or staying proactive, the timeline helps you and your doctor understand how things progress over time.
Every lab result is automatically organized on a chronological timeline, giving you a complete picture of your health journey.
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Whether it's a blood test, GI panel, urinalysis, or something else, lab reports measure numerous biomarkers that reveal what's happening inside your body. Our extensive database covers over 10,000 biomarkers, providing clear, simple explanations of what each result means and how you can take action—no matter your membership level. Say goodbye to confusion and get the insights you need to better understand your health.
Our database covers over 10,000 biomarkers with clear, simple explanations—so you can finally understand your results and what to do next.
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Enter Your Lab Reports — Always Free
If you'd like to handle inputting your health data into your account, you can do so with our easy-to-use data entry forms. Our user-friendly form is designed to guide you through the quick and easy submission process, making it simple to keep track of your health metrics. This is available to both Complete plan and Unlimited plan members.
Our user-friendly form guides you through a quick, simple submission process, making it easy to enter your health metrics.
Add your results anytime with our easy entry form. It's quick, guided, and helps you stay organized — free for all members.
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View your lab data through easy-to-read graphs and tables. Quickly spot patterns, track changes, and compare results across different dates — all without digging through multiple reports. You can also select and compare graphs of specific biomarkers side-by-side to better understand how they relate and change over time.
See your lab reports in clear graphs and tables. Spot patterns, track changes, and compare results over time — all in one place.
Export Your Complete Lab History in a Single File
Export Your Complete Lab History
After collecting lab results from different providers, you can download your entire history combined into a single file. Choose from PDF, Excel, or CSV formats to easily review, share, or get a second opinion—no more juggling multiple reports.
After collecting lab results from different providers, you can download your entire history combined into a single file.
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Data Entry Service for Your Reports
Our inclusive service handles the data entry for your lab reports. Just submit your information and we'll take care of the rest. Complete plan members receive one report entered for free, then $15 per report after that. Unlimited plan members receive ten report entries for free, then $15 per report after that.
Our inclusive service handles the data entry for your lab reports. Just submit your information and we'll take care of the rest.
Securely Share With Anyone You Trust
Whether you're working with a doctor, nutritionist, caregiver, or wellness coach, you can securely share your complete lab history by sending an invite link to anyone you trust. You have full control over who sees your information and for how long, ensuring your privacy and peace of mind at every step.
Share your full lab history with your doctor, nutritionist, or coach using a secure invite link.
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I have been using Healthmatters.io since 2021. I travel all over the world and use different doctors and health facilities. This site has allowed me to consolidate all my various test results over 14 years in one place. And every doctor that I show this to has been impressed. Because with any health professional I talk to, I can pull up historical results in seconds. It is invaluable. Even going back to the same doctor, they usually do not have the historical results from their facility in a graph format. That has been very helpful.
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What fantastic service and great, easy-to-follow layouts! I love your website; it makes it so helpful to see patterns in my health data. It's truly a pleasure to use. I only wish the NHS was as organized and quick as Healthmatters.io. You've set a new standard for health tracking!
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As a PRO member and medical practitioner, Healthmatters.io has been an invaluable tool for tracking my clients' data. The layout is intuitive, making it easy to monitor trends and spot patterns over time. The ability to customize reports and charts helps me present information clearly to my clients, improving communication and outcomes. It's streamlined my workflow, saving me time and providing insights at a glance. Highly recommended for any practitioner looking for a comprehensive and user-friendly solution to track patient labs!
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Healthmatters is a personal health dashboard that helps you organize and understand your lab results. It collects and displays your medical test data from any lab in one secure, easy-to-use platform.
With a Healthmatters account, you can:
Professionals can also analyze client data more efficiently and save time managing lab reports.
Healthmatters.io personal account provides in-depth research on 4000+ biomarkers, including information and suggestions for test panels such as, but not limited to:
You can combine all test reports inside your Healthmatters account and keep them in one place. It gives you an excellent overview of all your health data. Once you retest, you can add new results and compare them.
If you are still determining whether Healthmatters support your lab results, the rule is that if you can test it, you can upload it to Healthmatters.
While we work with many popular labs, we welcome reports from lots of other places too.
It's as simple as this: if you can get a test done, you can upload it to Healthmatters and we can interpret results from any lab out there. If laboratories can analyze it, we can interpret it.
If you're on the hunt for a specific biomarker, contact us and we'll add it to our database. Anything from blood, urine, saliva, or stool can be uploaded, understood, and tracked with your Healthmatters account.
The Complete Plan ($15/month) is perfect for individuals who want ongoing access to their health data. It includes unlimited lab imports, visual tracking, custom ranges, result explanations, full account exports, and secure sharing — all with a simple monthly subscription. You can cancel anytime and restart your plan whenever you're ready — your data will still be there waiting for you. You can also upgrade to the Unlimited Plan at any time, with the cost prorated based on what you've already paid.
The Unlimited Plan ($250 one-time) is also designed for individuals but offers lifetime access with no ongoing subscription. You'll get all the same features as the Complete Plan, plus a larger initial data entry allowance (10 reports), making it a great choice if you prefer a one-time payment and long-term use without monthly fees.
In short:
There are two ways to add your test reports to your Healthmatters account. One option is to input the data using the data entry forms. The other method is to utilize our "Data entry service."
Our data entry forms offer an easy, fast, and free way for you to input the reports yourself. Self-entry allows you to add an unlimited number of reports at no cost. We make the self-entry process user-friendly, providing dozens of templates that pre-populate the most popular laboratory panels and offering instant feedback on entered values.
For those who prefer assistance, we offer a "Data entry service" to help you input your data. Simply attach an image or file of your lab test results, and a qualified team member from our data entry team will add the results for you.
We support various file types, including PDFs, JPGs, or Excel. This service is particularly useful if you have many reports to upload or if you're too busy to handle the data entry yourself.
Our Data Entry Service is for when you don't want to manually type in your lab results yourself. You simply upload your report (PDF, image, or screenshot), and our trained team enters the information into your Healthmatters account for you — accurately and neatly organized, ready to view in graphs, tables, and timelines.
The $15 per report covers the time and care it takes for a real person to review your file, make sure each result is entered correctly, and double-check for accuracy. This ensures your health data is precise and easy to work with — without you having to spend the time doing it yourself.
Prefer to do it yourself? You can always use our free self-entry tool to add results manually — it just takes a bit more time and attention.
For users on the Complete monthly plan, the first report is entered free of charge, and each additional report incurs a fee of $15.
Unlimited account holders enjoy the entry of ten reports without charge. Subsequent reports are subject to a $15 fee per report.
Additionally, users on the Complete plan can upgrade to a yearly subscription from the account settings. The annual subscription includes a data entry service for five reports.
All professional accounts allow you to import and onboard an unlimited number of clients and their lab results. The distinction between professional plans lies solely in the data entry service.
The Pro Monthly Plus plan is priced at $75 per month and includes a data entry service for five reports each month. Additional reports can be self-entered at no extra cost or, if preferred, you can use our data entry service for an additional fee of $15 per report.
The Pro Monthly plan is priced at $45 per month and does not include a data entry service. Self-entry is free for an unlimited number of reports, and you can opt for the data entry service at a fee of $15 per report.
You also have the option to upgrade to higher monthly or to annual plans, which come with substantial discounts. All upgrades can be done directly from your account.
Simply log in and navigate to your account settings to cancel your subscription. Scroll down to locate the 'Cancel' button at the bottom of the page. Ensure you cancel at least one day before the renewal date to prevent any charges. Once cancellation is requested, the subscription remains active until the conclusion of the current billing cycle.
Our goal has been to make your Healthmatters account as intuitive as possible.
We've crafted multiple ways for you to navigate your data, whether you're glancing at a single report or delving into your historical test reports.
1. Graph View:Dive into a visual journey with our biomarker graphs, showcasing over 40 data points. Combining years of results unveils trends, empowering you to make informed decisions. Our visualization tools make it a breeze to compare and understand changes over time, even if your results are from different labs. A search function and filters simplify the exploration of extensive data, allowing you to focus on what needs attention.
2. All Tests ViewExplore neatly organized reports on a timeline, highlighting crucial details like dates, critical results, and lab/panel names. Each report opens up to reveal in-depth descriptions and additional recommendations for each biomarker. The history of previous results is just a click away, and you can download a comprehensive report for deeper insights. Color-coded and user-friendly, it's designed for easy reading, understanding, and navigation.
3. Table View:For a holistic view of all biomarkers side by side, our table view is your go-to. Results are neatly displayed in a categorized and dated table, ideal for those with an extensive test history. Utilize sorting, filters, and color-coding to enhance your analysis and gain extra insights.
Yes, you can download your information anytime. We offer two easy ways to export your lab data:
This makes it simple to save, back up, or share your health data whenever you need.
Yes, you can print your report. To do so, navigate to "All tests" and open the report you wish to print. You'll find a print button in the right corner of the report. Click on it, and your browser's print window will open. If you prefer to print in a bigger typeface, adjust the scale using the print window settings.
Yes, you can! We highly recommend activating Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for your account. To do so, please navigate to the "Profile and Security" section of your account, where you will find instructions for activating 2FA.
Yes, you can. When entering values for the biomarker, you will see an "Edit Range" button. Click this button, and you'll have the option to enter a custom range.
A personal account is all about keeping your own lab test results in check. It's just for you and your personal use.
The professional account is designed for health professionals who wish to track and organize their clients' laboratory results.
To learn more about Healthmatters Pro, please refer to the professional page.
At HealthMatters, we're committed to maintaining the security and confidentiality of your personal information. We've put industry-leading security standards in place to help protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of the information under our control. We use procedural, physical, and electronic security methods designed to prevent unauthorized people from getting access to this information. Our internal code of conduct adds additional privacy protection. All data is backed up multiple times a day and encrypted using SSL certificates. See our Privacy Policy for more details.
Optimal Result:
101 - 187 mg/dL.