Early thymectomy leads to premature immunologic ageing: An 18-year follow-up

• Published in: Journal of allergy and clinical immunology Vol. 138; no. 5; pp. 1439 - 1443.e10
• Main Authors: Gudmundsdottir, Judith, MD, Óskarsdóttir, Sólveig, MD, PhD, Skogberg, Gabriel, PhD, Lindgren, Susanne, MD, PhD, Lundberg, Vanja, MD, Berglund, Martin, PhD, Lundell, Anna-Carin, PhD, Berggren, Håkan, MD, PhD, Fasth, Anders, MD, PhD, Telemo, Esbjörn, PhD, Ekwall, Olov, MD, PhD
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.11.2016; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aging - immunology; Aging - metabolism; Allergy and Immunology; Biomarkers; Case-Control Studies; Discriminant analysis; Ear diseases; Female; Flow cytometry; Follow-Up Studies; Heart surgery; Humans; Immunologi inom det medicinska området; Immunology in the medical area; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Lymphocytes; Lymphopenia - etiology; Lymphopenia - immunology; Male; Pediatrics; Pediatrik; Population; Prospective Studies; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell - immunology; T cell receptors; T-Lymphocytes - immunology; Thymectomy - adverse effects; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0091-6749; 1097-6825; 1097-6825
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2016.05.014

Treg cells seem to be affected to the same extent as other T cells with diminished numbers.\n Clinical data Thymectomized (no. 11) Controls (no. 10) Acute otitis media 9 7 <10 per individual in total 6 4 >=10 per individual in total 3 3 Surgery related to recurrent otitis media 1 3 Pneumonia 5 2 Frequent respiratory infections 7 1 Severe infection (hospital admission) 6 1 Autoimmune disease (any) 1 1 Allergy (any) 5 2 Table E2 Reported clinical data from a questionnaire answered by participants and parents at 18-year follow-up Stage Cell Thymectomized (x109/L) 95% CI Controls(x109/L) 95% CI P value Preop Lymphocytes 3.67 2.75-4.60 NA Â Â Â CD4+ 1.72 1.24-2.21 -- Â Â Â CD8+ 0.62 0.43-0.80 -- Â Â Â CD19+ 0.85 0.33-1.37 -- Â Â Â CD16+/56+ 0.40 0.12-0.69 -- Â Â 18 mo Lymphocytes 2.99 1.80-4.18 4.25 3.15-5.35 .0925 Â CD4+ 0.79 0.43-1.15 1.90 1.39-2.41 .0014 Â CD8+ 0.52 0.27-0.77 1.00 0.67-1.33 .0144 Â CD19+ 0.94 0.52-1.36 0.98 0.65-1.31 .5870 Â CD16+/56+ 0.37 0.08-0.66 0.20 0.11-0.30 .3717 18 y Lymphocytes 1.41 1.10-1.73 1.87 1.62-2.13 .0202 Â CD4+ 0.55 0.45-0.66 0.83 0.67-1.00 .0050 Â CD8+ 0.29 0.18-0.40 0.53 0.40-0.67 .0038 Â CD19+ 0.27 0.16-0.38 0.22 0.17-0.27 .3157 Â CD16+/56+ 0.26 0.10-0.43 0.19 0.15-0.24 .9099 Table E3 Number of lymphocytes, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, CD19+ B cells, and CD16+/56+ natural killer cells analyzed preoperatively, at age 18 months, and at 18-year follow-up shown as mean cell number x 109/L with 95% CI and P value using either the unpaired t test or the Mann-Whitney test as appropriate NA, Not analyzed.