[Remarks suggested by a case of anencephaly with a different Pi type in fetal and maternal blood (author's transl)].

In an African woman who gave birth to an anencephalic foetus at the 28th week, the maternal blood (S.M.), the amniotic fluid (L.A.) and the cord blood (S.C.) were studied. The same fluids from a normal pregnancy and the blood from a normal woman of the same age were also studied. Alpha 1 antitrypsin (A1AT) was assayed: it was similar in the subject and the controls. When the phenotype of the A1AT was examined it was found to be ML in S.C., MM in S.M. and L.A. (suggesting a maternal origin of the A1AT of the L.A.). This distribution of the fraction of A1AT was similar for S.M. and L.A. (a new finding) but different for the S.C. (was the latter a result of the anencephaly?).