The immunological profile in sickle cell anaemia: a study of patients in the Arab Peninsula

Recurrent and often serious infections are common in sickle cell anaemia. The predisposing causes are multiple, and immune abnormalities are frequently blamed. In this study, immune complexes, lymphocyte subpopulations, immunoglobulins and complement were determined in 40 Arabs with sickle cell anaemia to ascertain some aspects of their immunological profile. Immunoglobulins were found to be either normal or high, C3 and C4 values mostly clustered at the lower level of normal with a few values below normal, and some patients had low T4/T8 lymphocyte ratios. The results are discussed and compared with previous studies.