Leucocyte alkaline phosphatase activity in healthy Kenyan African neonates

Abstract

Leucocyte alkaline phosphatase (LAP) activity was determined in healthy, Kenyan African rieonates of gestational ages between 30 and 42 weeks. 210, 99, and 70 neonates had LAP activity examined on the 1st, 4th and 7th days of life respectively. All the neonates demonstrated LAP activity in their neutrophils at birth. The LAP activity showed no significant variation with gestational age and sex. The mean LAP score for both male and female neonates was 120, which was three times as high as that observed in normal adult Kenyan Africans. It was observed that, postnatally, LAP activity dropped rapidly between the first and fourth days of life and then gradually between the fourth and seventh days.