U.S. Center for the Alpha One International Registry

The New Zealand Centre for the Alpha One International Registry

The New Zealand Centre for AIR is sponsored by the Canterbury Respiratory Research Group based in Christchurch. The Canterbury Respiratory Research Group was established in 1990 and is affiliated with the Department of Medicine at the Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences and has close links with Canterbury Respiratory Services of Canterbury District Health Board.

The Principal Investigator for the New Zealand Centre is Michael Epton BM BS, BMedSci, MRCP (UK), FRACP, PhD . Mike took over as Director of the Canterbury Respiratory Research Group in July 2002. He is a Senior Lecturer in Medicine at the Christchurch School
of Medicine and Health Sciences and is a Respiratory Physician at Christchurch Hospital. He is a Council Member of the Alpha-1 InternationalRegister.

The aims of the New Zealand Centre are to:
1.	Develop a New Zealand registry of AAT deficient people.
2.	Link this database to the AIR project.
3.	Gather baseline and follow-up data on participant demographics (age, sex, occupation), smoking habits, medical history, lung function (breathing tests) and radiographic (x-rays to the lungs) data.
4.	Keep a blood sample for future projects into AAT deficiency.
5.	Follow-up registered participants every 1-2 years to gather data about their clinical status and lung function tests.
6.	Participate in clinical research into treatment for AAT deficiency.

A member of the Canterbury Respiratory Research Group normally contacts the General Practitioners (GP) of people who have recently been tested for AAT deficiency. Information sheets, consent forms and a baseline questionnaire are sent to the GP so that the person can be entered on the registry after their signed consent form and completed questionnaire are returned to the Research Group. The questionnaire is normally filled out with the help of a GP.

You can obtain more details about the New Zealand Centre by providing us with contact information on our secure server (see "I want more information about AAT deficiency" on the home page). By supplying us with your confidential contact information you are not committing yourself to participation.

If you wish to contact the New Zealand centre by mail or phone we can be reached at:

Canterbury Respiratory Research Group
Hagley Building
Private Bag 4710
Christchurch Hospital
Christchurch
New Zealand
Telephone: +64 3 364 1157
Fax: +64 3 364 1184
E-mail: crrg@chmeds.ac.nz