title: Activity of adenosine deaminase in cerebrospinal fluid for the diagnosis and follow-up of tuberculous meningitis in adults.
abstract: We studied the activity of adenosine deaminase in the cerebrospinal fluid of 40 normal controls and 205 patients who were grouped according to disease (tuberculous, viral, and purulent meningitis; neoplasms; stroke; and miscellaneous). The mean enzyme value was clearly higher for the patients with tuberculous meningitis (15.7 +/- 4.3 U/liter) than for the other patients (1.4 +/- 1.5 U/liter). The sensitivity of the test for diagnosing tuberculous meningitis was 1 and specificity, 0.99. The enzyme activity, as well as progression of the disease, was studied in 32 patients with tuberculous meningitis. A significant rise in levels of enzyme was observed during the first 10 days of therapy, was followed by a gradual decline, and reached normal values after three to four months of treatment. Two patients showed substantial increases that coincided with the development of complications. The test proved to be a simple and reliable method for early diagnosis and follow-up of tuberculous meningitis.
mesh_terms: D000243:Adenosine Deaminase / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D000328:Adult; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004796:Clinical Enzyme Tests; D005947:Glucose / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D006801:Humans; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009700:Nucleoside Deaminases / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D014374:Tuberculin Test; D014390:Tuberculosis, Meningeal / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents; D009700:Nucleoside Deaminases; D000243:Adenosine Deaminase; D005947:Glucose