Application of microcalorimetry to the study of living cells in the medical field

In the last 20 years we have applied microcalorimetry to the study of metabolism in living cells with the purpose of obtaining useful information in the medical field. Both cell suspensions and pieces of tissues have been used. Cell metabolism, as recorded by heat production rate, has been found to reflect the activity of the disease in several pathological conditions: thyroid dysfunctions, acromegaly, acute leukaemia, peripheral arterial disease. In non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a heterogenous group of tumors with variable degree of malignancy, high heat production rate in tumor cells and lymhocytes was associated with a poor prognosis. Microcalorimetry appears to be a useful methodology in the medical field.