Alpha-1-antitrypsin in umbilical cord serum: Pi phenotypes and relationships with idiopathic respiratory distress syndrome
✍ Scribed by Mauro Piantelli; Roberto Pozzuoli; Pietro Auconi; Piero Musiani
- Publisher
- Springer
- Year
- 1978
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 483 KB
- Volume
- 127
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0340-6997
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
The concentrations and phenotypes of serum alpha-l-antitrypsin (aIAT) were determined in 650 newborn infants.
The distribution of these 650 subjects among the various Pi phenotypes confirms the higher frequency reported for the PiS allele in Latin populations.
Serum a~AT levels vary between one phenotype and the other. Besides, at birth, infants weighing more than 2,500 g have a~AT levels significantly higher (P<0.001) than infants weighing less than 2,500 g; this difference in serum alAT concentrations is due to the low aIAT levels found in preterm infants. The significantly lower a~AT concentrations found in preterms is associated with a higher risk of developing IRDS and with a mean birth weight under 2,000 g. Infants who develop IRDS frequently have lower alAT levels than those who do not develop the syndrome, independently from body weight.
On the basis of serum aIAT quantitation, newborn infants may be separated into two groups, characterized respectively by concentrations above or below 150 mg%. From our data, it appears that if the group with an a~AT concentration lower than 150 rag% is phenotyped, it is possible to differentiate infants with a high risk of fatal IRDS from individuals with a "pathological" phenotype.