A type of chronic, progressive liver disease in which liver cells are replaced by scar tissue.

Alpha-1 is an inherited disorder that may result in you developing a serious lung/ liver disease and passing the defective AAT gene onto your children. An estimated 100,000 people in the U.S. and a similar number in Europe are estimated to have the severe deficiency. In normal individuals large amounts of alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) is made in the liver and released into the blood. In AAT deficient individuals, the AAT made in the liver cannot be fully released into the blood.