08/20/2026
💡Spotlighting interprofessional collaboration💡Researchers from the University of Nebraska Medical Center - UNMC Colleges of Nursing, Medicine, and Public Health are leading the way investigating whether Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), a genetic condition that increases risk COPD, also plays a role in risk of pelvic organ prolapse (POP). As both conditions are under-diagnosed, demonstrating an association between them should improve the diagnoses of POP among women with COPD, and of COPD among women with POP. Early screening and interventions would improve women’s quality of life.
See the primary researchers, Dr. Erika Fuchs, Assistant Professor, COPH, Dr. Stephen Rennard, Professor, COM, and Dr. Jennifer Cera, Associate Professor, CON, along with their team’s, first article published in the Journal of Women’s Health titled “Pelvic Organ Prolapse and Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency” https://doi.org/10.1177/15409996261478679
