A comparative study of water T-1 and T-2 NMR relaxation times in healthy and pathological blood fluid

Water protons T-1 and T-2 relaxation times in samples of whole blood, obtai ned from healthy people and from patients affected by Macrocytic Anemia on one side and Lymphatic and Myeloid Leukemia on the other, have been measure d with the FT NMR technique at 80 Mhz and at 25 degrees C. No significant d ifference with respect to the value of the spin lattice relaxation time par ameter measured for the healthy control group is experimentally evident in the case of the Macrocytic Anaemia while the spin spin relaxation time incr eases in magnitude. On the reverse both the leukemic cases present a signif icant (p < 0.001) increase in the relaxation times with respect to the cont rol group. The experimental relaxation data belonging to the anaemic case s how a linear correlation with the red cells volume while that obtained for the two leukaemic cases appear linearly correlated with the total white cel l numbers. From the relaxation data an estimate of the amount of water tigh tly bound to the white cells membrane can be determined which results rough ly thirty times lower than that bound to the red cells membrane. In this wo rk is also presented a step by step outline of the water relaxation behavio r which starts with the pure water and ends with the water in the whole blo od supported by relaxation experiments done on the isolated blood main comp onents.