Radial segmentation of leukocyte nuclei in some rheumatic disorders

Abstract

Heat-induced radial segmentation of leukocyte nuclei is a phenomenon reported to occur in various inflammatory diseases. In order to explore its potential diagnostic value, we studied the occurrence of this phenomenon in 32 subjects with rheumatic inflammatory diseases, 14 subjects with noninflammatory disease, and 15 healthy individuals. We did not observe any statistically significant difference in the extent of radial segmentation between the patient subgroups and the controls. We suggest that the phenomenon of heat-induced radial segmentation cannot be regarded as a helpful tool in the diagnosis of rheumatic diseases.