Where Research Is Heading
PAM is rare, but research is moving forward — and scientists are now exploring several ways to tackle the disease from different angles.
Understand and target the genetic cause:
PAM is linked to changes in the SLC34A2 gene, which affects how phosphate is cleared from the tiny air sacs of the lungs. Researchers are investigating how this faulty process might be corrected or overcome, including the potential of future gene-based treatments.
These approaches could eventually work together — preventing new deposits, removing those already present, and ultimately addressing the underlying genetic cause. There is currently no cure for PAM. But the direction of research gives real reason for hope.
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PAM Global exists to help connect the people affected by PAM with the researchers working towards that future.
Break down the deposits:
Researchers are exploring ways to dissolve the calcium-phosphate deposits already building up in the lungs. Work has investigated calcium-chelating treatments that could potentially break down these deposits and help clear them from the lungs.
Stop new deposits forming:
Another approach is to reduce the amount of phosphate available to create new deposits. Research is examining phosphate levels, diet, phosphate-binding treatments and the body's natural phosphate-regulating systems to understand whether PAM can be slowed.