Neonatal lymphocyte subpopulations of the cases with neural tube defects

Neural tube defects (NTDs) are among the most common congenital malformations of central nervous system and are frequently associated with other organ system abnormalities. In order to evaluate the immunological changes in such patients, we examined the lymphocyte subpopulations of 13 newborns with NTDs and 32 healthy newborns. Leukocyte counts, absolute neutrophil and lymphocyte counts were lower in the babies with NTDs. Also the lymphocyte subpopulations such as percentages and absolute counts of T-cells, CD4+ cells, and CD45+ cells showed statistically significant decreases. These findings suggest that the affected babies are immunosuppressed.