This statement is true. The Ham test (acidified serum lysis test) and the sugar-water test (sucrose lysis test) are both classic screening tests for Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH). They both exploit the same weakness of PNH red cells: their increased sensitivity to complement. In the sugar-water test, blood is mixed with a low-ionic-strength solution (like isotonic sucrose). This environment allows complement to activate via the alternative pathway. The PNH red cells, lacking the protective proteins CD55 and CD59, are lysed (broken open) by this complement activation, leading to visible hemolysis in the test tube. While these tests are historically important, they have largely been replaced by more specific and sensitive flow cytometry tests that directly detect the absence of GPI-anchored proteins (like CD55 and CD59) on the red cell surface.

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Zambia

• Joseph Soko – 101 pts

• Visual Pathway Lesions
• Positive and Negative Symptoms
• Hallucinations and Delusions
• Antipsychotic Medications
• Emergency: Environmental Emergencies