Serum adenosine deaminase and arylsulfatase A as an index of early infiltration of central nervous system in acute lymphoblastic leukemia

The level of adenosine deaminase [ADA] and arylsulphatase A [ASA] in the sera of 22 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia [ALL] were significantly increased when compared with the control healthy group. Also, there is a significant increase in the activity of these enzymes in patients with ALL with central nervous system [CNS] infiltration when compared with patients of ALL without CNS infiltration. We conclude that the estimation of ADA and ASA in the serum may be useful for detection of the early infiltration of the central nervous system by leukemic cells in acute lymphoblastic leukemia