Polyamine levels in red blood cells from patient groups of different sex and age.

Interpretation of polyamine levels found in the tissues and red blood cells of tumour patients has been plagued by the wide variations seen in the concentrations when estimated in groups of either tumour or control patients. To ascertain whether the patient's age or sex were contributing factors, red blood cell polyamine concentrations of 117 control patients were examined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Concentrations of spermidine were consistently higher than those of spermine. Also, regression analysis showed that spermidine and spermine levels tended to change with age and sex, though these trends were statistically non-significant.