ACTIVE ROSETTE-FORMING T-CELLS IN THE ELDERLY

ABSTRACT: The numbers and percentages of active rosette‐forming T cells were measured in two age groups, to assess the effects of aging. The study included 21 healthy persons in the 20–40 age group and 25 persons without major disease in the 60–85 age group. In the younger subjects the number of rosette‐forming cells (RFC) averaged 1430 ± 463/cu mm (mean and S.D.), a count not significantly different from that in the older subjects (1443 ± 398/cu mm). Likewise, the active RFC count in the 20–40 age group (526 ± 185/cu mm) and that in the IJO‐85 age group (558 ± 197/cu mm) were not significantly different. There was no difference for the percentage total RFC (young 78 ± 4%, elderly 78 ± 6%) or the percentage active RFC (young 29 ± 7%, elderly 30 ± 6%). For the total lymphocyte count or the B lymphocyte count, there was no difference between the two groups of subjects. It is concluded that T lymphocytes, measured as total and active rosette‐forming cells, are not decreased in healthy older persons. 1979 The American Geriatrics Society