title: Comparison of polymorphonuclear leukocyte functions in elderly patients and healthy young volunteers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) functions (phagocytosis and intracellular killing activity) of elderly patients with healthy young volunteers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-nine elderly patients who had various diseases (cancer, hypertension and diabetes mellitus, DM) and 10 healthy young volunteers were included in this study. Ficoll-Hypaque gradient centrifugation was used to isolate PMNs from venous blood containing EDTA (0.1 g/ml). Phagocytosis and intracellular killing activity of neutrophils were assayed using a modification of Alexander's method, in which serum opsonins, number of neutrophils and number of microorganisms are standardized in order to detect both increases and decreases in phagocytosis and intracellular killing as well as combined abnormalities of these two functions. The least significant difference test was used to compare the results in the two groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Phagocytic activity of PMNs from patients with cancer was significantly higher than that of healthy young volunteers (p < 0.05) and elderly patients with hypertension and DM (p < 0.05). There was no statistical difference between the phagocytic activity of PMNs from elderly patients with hypertension and DM and healthy young volunteers (p > 0.05). The intracellular killing activity of PMNs from elderly patients with hypertension, DM and cancer was significantly lower than that of healthy young volunteers (p = 0.001, p < 0.0001, p = 0.003, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The intracellular killing activity of PMNs from elderly patients was significantly decreased when compared with that of healthy young volunteers. Ageing, chronic diseases and drugs used in the treatment of these elderly patients may be the cause for decreased intracellular killing activity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Marmara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Pervin
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Göçer
authors.forename: Umran S
authors.initials: US
authors.lastname: Gürer
authors.forename: Nilgün
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Erten
authors.forename: Sükrü
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Palanduz
authors.forename: Erkan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rayaman
authors.forename: Burçak
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Akarsu
authors.forename: Akif
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karan
authors.forename: Adile
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cevikbaş
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology*; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000276:immunology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000276:immunology*; D010587:Phagocytosis