Overview of Immunological Studies on A-bomb Survivors

A Review of Forty-Five Years Study of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivors II. BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS

Abstract

Among the peripheral blood lymphocytes, T-cells and B-cells significantly decreased in number with age. Radiation exposure resulted in further significant decrease of T-cell count (but not B cells) in the elderly. T-cell response to PHA and allo-antigens also decreased with dose in the elderly group. In contrast, NK cell number and function increased with age while a significant dose effect was not observed.