Serum adenosine deaminase and cytidine deaminase as markers of active disease in childhood rheumatic disorders

ABSTRACT

Serum cytidine deaminase [CD] and adenosine deaminase [AD] activities were measured in 21 children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis [JRA], 21 with SLE and other rheumatic diseases and 11 with active rheumatic fever [RF] in comparison with 19 healthy controls aiming at assessing their activities in such diseases and their relation in clinical and laboratory markers of the disease activity. The mean serum CD and AD activities were significantly higher in patients' groups than in controls. The increase in CD activity was more prominent in JRA and RF, while AD was highest in SLE. Patients with active JRA had higher CD activity than that with quiescent disease. AD was insignificantly higher in quiescent disease. The activity of both enzymes was insignificantly higher in active as compared to quiescent SLE. Although paired observations of eight patients revealed a drop in the activity of both enzymes with a disease remission, yet the levels remained significantly higher than in controls indicating an ongoing subclinical inflammation. The activity of both enzymes did not correlate significantly neither with ESR nor with serum complement C3 activity. No significant differences were observed with various modes of therapy [steroids, NSAIDs] of JRA. Cytotoxic drugs for SLE were accompanied by a significantly higher CD than steroid therapy