Fatty acid composition of erythrocytes in hereditary spherocytosis.

The fatty acid distribution of the four major phospholipids has been determined in the erythrocytes of five patients with hereditary spherocytosis and in five control subjects. In contrast to a report by other workers, we are unable to confirm their findings of a defect in fatty acid chain lengthening activity leading to disappearance of long chain fatty acid conjugates of more than 20 carbon atoms in some of the phospholipid fractions.