Treatment
The first advance in the treatment of Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis came in November 1960, when Dr. Jose Ramirez-Rivera at the Veterans' Administration Hospital in Baltimore applied repeated "segmental flooding" as a means of physically removing the accumulated alveolar material.
The standard treatment for PAP is whole-lung lavage, in which sterile fluid is instilled into the lung and then removed, along with the abnormal surfactant material. This is generally effective at ameliorating symptoms, often for prolonged periods. Since the mouse discovery noted above, the use of GM-CSF injections has also been attempted, with variable success. Lung transplantation can be performed in refractory cases.
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