[Alpha-1 antitrypsin and idiopathic respiratory distress of the newborn infant. Study in serum and lungs].

Serum level of alpha-1-antitrypsin is significantly reduced in newborns with idiopathic respiratory distress when compared to matched controls. This decrease was predominantly due to the group of infants who died from I.R.D., provided that alpha-1-antitrypsin determination was carried out on the first day of life. Alpha-1-antitrypsin was demonstrable by indirect immunofluorescence in hyaline membranes whereas fluorescence was negative in the alveolae of infants who had no hyaline membranes.