Effect of age on sensitivity of human lymphocytes to radiation. A brief note.

Survival of human lymphocytes after X-ray and ultraviolet irradiation was studied in individuals of various ages using a technique of cloning in soft agar. There was no effect of age on survival after ultraviolet irradiation but lymphocytes from elderly individuals were approximately twice as sensitive to X-radiation as lymphocytes from young individuals. The results are relevant to the possible importance of DNA damage and repair in cellular ageing.