Reticulocyte count, mean reticulocyte volume, immature reticulocyte fraction, and mean sphered cell volume in elite athletes: reference values and comparison with the general population
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Giuseppe Banfi
Abstract
Background: The role of measurement of reticulocytes and their parameters is growing in sports medicine. The use of reticulocyte counts in protocols for evaluating and screening for the suspected abuse of hormones that stimulate the bone marrow is an example. Reticulocytes are also important for evaluation of the performance and general health status of athletes, especially for monitoring therapies and diets. The current availability of fully automated haematological systems that can measure reticulocyte numbers and characteristics (volume, density) increases the potential use of these parameters in laboratory and sports medicine. Few studies have considered the application of these parameters in athletes and a lack of specific reference ranges means that their valid clinical use is difficult.
Methods: Using a Coulter LH700 instrument, we measured reticulocyte count (Retics), mean reticulocyte volume (MRV), immature reticulocyte fraction (IRF), and mean sphered cell volume (MSCV) in 106 male professional elite athletes (football and rugby players and skiers). Reference intervals for the athletes were compared with the intervals found for a control group of 73 age-matched males.
Results: We calculated the following reference intervals: 0.30–1.54% for Retics, 93.1–114.8fL for MRV, 0.18–0.39% for IRF, and 76.8–94.5fL for MSCV.
Conclusions: No statistically significant differences were observed for Retics, MRV, IRF, and MSCV between elite athletes and controls. Significant differences were observed for haemoglobin (Hb), erythrocytes, haematocrit (Ht), and mean corpuscular volume. Moreover, no statistical differences were observed among different sports, whereas differences were remarked in football and rugby players between the samples drawn before the start of competitive season and the samples drawn during the season, demonstrating that reticulocyte counts and parameters are useful for monitoring sportsmen.
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©2006 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin New York
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- Association of high-sensitive C-reactive protein with advanced stage β-cell dysfunction and insulin resistance in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus
- A longitudinal evaluation of urinary glycosaminoglycan excretion in normoalbuminuric type 1 diabetic patients
- National survey on the execution of the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in a representative cohort of Italian laboratories
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- Reticulocyte count, mean reticulocyte volume, immature reticulocyte fraction, and mean sphered cell volume in elite athletes: reference values and comparison with the general population
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Articles in the same Issue
- CCLM: Expanding the science worldwide
- Factor V Leiden, prothrombin G20210A substitution and hormone therapy: indications for molecular screening
- Immunochemical quantification of free immunoglobulin light chains from an analytical perspective
- De novo deletion removes a conserved motif in the C-terminus of ABCA4 and results in cone-rod dystrophy
- Molecular detection of squamous cell carcinoma antigen transcripts in peripheral blood of cancer patients
- Influence of human haptoglobin polymorphism on oxidative stress induced by free hemoglobin on red blood cells
- Real-time RT-PCR quantification of PRAME gene expression for monitoring minimal residual disease in acute myeloblastic leukaemia
- Association of high-sensitive C-reactive protein with advanced stage β-cell dysfunction and insulin resistance in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus
- A longitudinal evaluation of urinary glycosaminoglycan excretion in normoalbuminuric type 1 diabetic patients
- National survey on the execution of the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in a representative cohort of Italian laboratories
- The reduction of cholesteryl linoleate in lipoproteins: an index of clinical severity in β-thalassemia/Hb E
- Alterations in serum glycosaminoglycan profiles in Graves' patients
- Alterations in anti-oxidative defence enzymes in erythrocytes from sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (SALS) and familial ALS patients
- Sandwich ELISAs for soluble immunoglobulin superfamily receptor translocation-associated 2 (IRTA2)/FcRH5 (CD307) proteins in human sera
- Utilizing ultrafiltration to remove alkaline phosphatase from clinical analyzer water
- Measurement of serum monoclonal components: comparison between densitometry and capillary zone electrophoresis
- Salivary aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase: possible markers in periodontal diseases?
- Reticulocyte count, mean reticulocyte volume, immature reticulocyte fraction, and mean sphered cell volume in elite athletes: reference values and comparison with the general population
- Serum homocysteine levels and paraoxonase 1 activity in preschool aged children in Greece
- The effects of adrenocorticotrophic hormone and cortisol on homocysteine and vitamin B concentrations
- Plasma, salivary and urinary cotinine in non-smoker Italian women exposed and unexposed to environmental tobacco smoking (SEASD study)
- Cut-off values for total serum immunoglobulin E between non-atopic and atopic children in north-west Croatia
- Thyroglobulin assay during thyroxine treatment in low-risk differentiated thyroid cancer management: comparison with recombinant human thyrotropin-stimulated assay and imaging procedures
- Evaluation of serum levels of p53 in hepatocellular carcinoma in Egypt
- Insufficient filling of vacuum tubes as a cause of microhemolysis and elevated serum lactate dehydrogenase levels. Use of a data-mining technique in evaluation of questionable laboratory test results
- Evaluation of three different specimen types (serum, plasma lithium heparin and serum gel separator) for analysis of certain analytes: clinical significance of differences in results and efficiency in use
- Comparative evaluation of a new immunoradiometric assay for corticotropin
- Mast cells in atherosclerosis as a source of the cytokine RANKL
- Falsely increased total serum protein due to dextran interference
