Diagnostic Value of Serum Adenosine Deaminase in Type II Saudi Diabetic Patients

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most causative important factors of mortality in the developing countries. Adenosine deaminase (ADA) is a purine metabolizing enzyme that catalyzes the deamination of adenosine to inosine. The aim of the work was to evaluate the diagnostic value of serum ADA and its association with hyperglycemia in type II Saudi diabetic patients in Tabuk region at Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Seventy one Type II Saudi diabetic patients and twenty two healthy controls were enrolled in this study. The diabetic patients were divided into four groups according to their fasting blood sugar. Serum levels of ADA, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), alanine amino transferase (ALT), aspartate amino transferase (AST), urea, creatinine, uric acid, Malondialdhyde (MDA), Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx) and Superoxide dismutase (SOD) were measured. Results: There was a significant increase (p < 0.05) in serum ADA, TC, TG, HbA1c, ALT, AST, urea, creatinine, uric acid and MDA in diabetic groups compared to the controls, while the levels of GPx and SOD were significantly decreased (p < 0.05) in diabetic groups compared to the controls. Conclusion: The increasing of serum activity of adenosine deaminase was found as a good diagnostic marker for type II Saudi diabetes where it is highly significantly correlated with the glycemic status.