Patients who took part in the first human trial of the therapy experienced a dramatic improvement in their symptoms, with many able to come off long-term medication.
Dr Hilary Longhurst, principal investigator at Te Toka Tumai, Auckland city hospital, said the single-dose therapy appeared to provide "a permanent cure" for her patients' "very disabling symptoms".
Hereditary angioedema, or HAE, is a rare disease that affects about one in 50,000 people and is caused by a genetic mutation that leaves patients with leaky blood vessels. This produces erratic bouts of swelling that typically affect the lips, mouth, throat, bowels, hands and feet.
Attacks strike as often as twice a week and last from hours to days.
People can end up bedridden if swelling affects the bowels, while its disfiguring impact on the face can stop people leaving home. The most serious flare-ups affect the throat and can lead to suffocation and death.
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