Articles: aged.
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Proportions and absolute numbers of T and B lymphocytes were determined among 30 newborn infants and group of 77 elderly patients 60 to 95 years of age. Total lymphocytes in the cord blood of the newborn showed a distinct elevation in total numbers of T and B lymphocytes (p less than 0.005) as compared to that in blood from normal adult controls, reflecting the relative lymphocytosis of infancy. Proportions of cord blood T lymphocytes as reflected by the sheep cell rosette technic were considerable lower than those in lymphocytes from normal adult controls, however, proportions of cord blood T lymphocytes as determined by indirect immunofluorescence were not significantly different from those in controls. ⋯ In addition, there was a broad increment in the incidence of various autoantibodies (anti-nuclear, andi-IgG, antismooth muscle, antimitochondrial and antiparietal cell) among the old people studies. No direct correlation could be determined between relative B-cell percentage increase or T-cell decrease and the presence of various autoantibodies in individual patients. Diminution in total lymphocyte counts as well as absolute numbers of T cells in the elderly may provide the cellular basis for an increased susceptibility to neoplasia and infection.