en Legal Medicine Original Research: Basic Science in Medicine Original Research: Basic Science in Medicine 52 β- thalassemia major patients were studied. Their ages ranged from two to 20 years. The group consisted of 22 girls and 30 boys. Candida intracellular killing and NBT (nitroblue tetrazolium) tests were performed on the peripheral blood neutrophils of these patients. Average results of the intracellular killing test was within normal range for the patients, but showed an appreciable decrease in comparison with the results of the normal control tests (50 normal persons of the same age group were tested as normal controls. This decrease was more pronounced in those patients who had undergone splenectomy. A converse relationship was observed between the results of the patients' intracellular killing and their serum ferritin level and age. Average results of the patients' NBT tests showed an increase in comparison with those of the control group. The average results for the patients who had their spleens removed due to hypersplenism was the same as in those who had normal spleens and had no relation to the serum ferritin level but did show a moderate relationship with the age of the patients. A suggestion that can be put forth is the likelihood that intracellular killing of peripheral blood neutrophils in the β- thalassemia patients is conductive to the determination of those with greater susceptibility to infection. 135 138 http://mjiri.iums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-298-696&slc_lang=en&sid=1 MOHAMMAD JAAFARI 20031947532846006311 20031947532846006311 Yes From the' Tarbiat Modarres University Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. MINA IZADYAR 20031947532846006312 20031947532846006312 No Children's Medical Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences MOHAMMAD RAKHSHAN 20031947532846006313 20031947532846006313 No Dept. of Pathology, Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences ABUL HASSAN FARHOUDC 20031947532846006314 20031947532846006314 No Children's Medical Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences TAHEREH ZANDIEH 20031947532846006315 20031947532846006315 No Blood Transfusion Organization, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. GHOLAM-REZA BABAl 20031947532846006316 20031947532846006316 No From the' Tarbiat Modarres University Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran.