Preliminary Studies on Serum Alpha-1-Antitrypsin in Children with Sickle. cell Anaemia.

Abstract

Summary: Serum levels and phenotype distribution of alpha-1-antitrypsin (A-1-AT) were determined in 107 children with sickle-cell anaemia and in 100 healthy controls of similar ages. The mean level of A-1-AT in the sicklers was 4.39 g/1+1.61 g/1 (range. 1.68 g/1 - 7.37 g/l) and this was significantly higher than the mean of 2.62g/1 + 0.53g/1 (range 2.05 g/1 - 4.4g/1) in the controls (p<0.001). It was considered that this difference was most likely the result of a non-specific response to tissue damage in the sicklers. Preliminary phe knotype study on starch gel electrophoresis revealed only the common allele PiM.