Emerging Medical Therapies for Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis

Vahdatpour et al discuss emerging medical therapies for pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP). PAP is a rare disease characterized by the abnormal accumulation of surfactant within the alveou. Over 90% of cases are autoimmune in nature and inwlve autoantibodies against C1M-CSP (granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor). Tazawa and colleagues hypothesized that inhaled GM-CSF replacement would improve oxygenation in patients with miId-to-moderate autoimmune PAP, with their hypothesis being based on previous research. The study demonstrates that inhaled GM-CSF has the potential to treat PAP.