Basopenia Explained

Basopenia (or basocytopenia) is a form of agranulocytosis associated with a deficiency of basophils.^[1] It has been proposed as an indicator of ovulation.^[2] It is difficult to detect without flow cytometry, because normal levels are so low.^[3] It can be defined as less than 0.01 x 10⁹ / L.^[4] Basopenia has been observed in a number of conditions, including after the administration of corticosteroids and in disease states such as chronic urticaria and lupus.^[5]

Mechanism

See main article: Basophils. Basophils, which account for a small proportion of the total leukocyte count, are phagocytic. Heparin, histamine, and serotonin are found in the basophilic granules. Mast cells are tissue basophils that are similar to blood basophils. Mast cells are normally not found in peripheral blood and are only rarely found in healthy bone marrow. Chronic inflammation is assessed using basophil counts. Although there is a positive correlation between higher basophil counts and high blood histamine concentrations, this correlation is not indicative of cause and effect.^[6]

Associated conditions

• Hereditary absence of basophils (very rare)
• Elevated levels of glucocorticoids
• Hyperthyroidism or treatment with thyroid hormones
• Ovulation
• Hypersensitivity reactions

• urticaria^{[7] [8] [9]}

• Anaphylaxis

• Drug-induced reactions
• Leukocytosis (in association with diverse disorders)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Definition: basophilic leukopenia from Online Medical Dictionary .
2. Soni R, Bose S, Gada D, Potnis V . Basopenia as an indicator of ovulation (a short term clinical study) . Indian J. Physiol. Pharmacol. . 40 . 4 . 385–8 . October 1996 . 9055113 .
3. Web site: CLS_3223_Unit 03_WBC . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090130012318/http://www.clt.astate.edu/wwilliam/unit_03.htm . 2009-01-30 .
4. Web site: Pathology .
5. Shah . Hemali . Eisenbarth . Stephanie . Tormey . Christopher A . Siddon . Alexa J . Behind the scenes with basophils: an emerging therapeutic target . Immunotherapy Advances . Oxford University Press (OUP) . 1 . 1 . January 1, 2021 . ltab008 . 2732-4303 . 10.1093/immadv/ltab008 . free. 35919744 . 9327101 .
6. Basophil count . Nursing Critical Care . Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) . 14 . 4 . 2019 . 1558-447X . 10.1097/01.ccn.0000559778.07144.9d . 35. November 16, 2023. free.
7. Lourenço FD, Azor MH, Santos JC . Activated status of basophils in chronic urticaria leads to interleukin-3 hyper-responsiveness and enhancement of histamine release induced by anti-IgE stimulus . Br. J. Dermatol. . 158 . 5 . 979–86 . May 2008 . 18341658 . 10.1111/j.1365-2133.2008.08499.x . 2935740 .
8. Grattan CE, Dawn G, Gibbs S, Francis DM . Blood basophil numbers in chronic ordinary urticaria and healthy controls: diurnal variation, influence of loratadine and prednisolone and relationship to disease activity . Clin. Exp. Allergy . 33 . 3 . 337–41 . March 2003 . 12614448 . 10.1046/j.1365-2222.2003.01589.x . 30477970 .
9. Grattan CE, Walpole D, Francis DM . Flow cytometric analysis of basophil numbers in chronic urticaria: basopenia is related to serum histamine releasing activity . Clin. Exp. Allergy . 27 . 12 . 1417–24 . December 1997 . 9433937 . 10.1046/j.1365-2222.1997.1630972.x.