The 2008 AIR meeting, held in Birmingham in tandem with the COPD6 conference, was well attended by an international delegation and was the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the meeting. Professor Jan Stolk welcomed the delegation and gave an account of the rationale for the registry and an overview of the achievements of AIR since its inception.
This year's programme was designed to provide a platform for the work of younger researchers in the field of alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency, as well as coverage of the latest developments by established international experts. In addition, the scientific committees' intention was to incorporate a broad range of topics that reflected the syndrome of alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency, rather than to remain focused on the pulmonary aspects. Consequently, the morning was devoted to oral presentations from junior researchers, and the diversity of innovative projects is evident from the abstracts published in this issue of the journal.
Professor Rob Stockley delivered the Laurell Lecture and described the purpose and scientific output of the ADAPT programme, in Birmingham. The findings of the EXAcerbations and CT scan as Lung Endpoints (EXACTLE) trial were presented by Professor Asger Dirksen: the implication that these data, and an additional analysis of pooled data from the EXACTLE and the previous Danish-Dutch trial, would have for the management of patients with alpha 1-antitrypsin was discussed. Lectures by Dr. Janciauskiene and Professors Lomas and Kalsheker provided excellent state of the art accounts on the anti-inflammatory properties of alpha 1-antitryspsin, the potential therapeutic applications of small molecules and screening, respectively. A description of the sibling study was given by Professor Silverman, and an update of the Swedish birth cohort was given by Dr. Piitulainen.
The meeting provided an interactive forum for the multinational group of delegates and the next AIR scientific meeting is expected in 2010 at a future agreed upon venue.