title: Adenosine deaminase activity in sera of patients with visceral leishmaniasis in India.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Serum adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity increases in diseases where cellular immunity is involved. Since cell-mediated immune responses play a paramount role in the pathogenesis and healing of the visceral leishmaniasis, therefore, the present study was undertaken to evaluate the serum ADA activity in different pathological conditions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Adenosine deaminase was determined in sera of active visceral leishmaniasis (VL) patients at diagnosis and at posttreatment (n=22), healthy controls (n=15), patients with malaria (n=10), leprosy (n=10) and tuberculosis (n=10).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Serum levels of ADA were significantly higher in active VL patients as compared to controls and patients with other diseases. ADA levels were also raised in patients with malaria, though not significantly as compared with active VL patients. Sera from VL patients at posttreatment showed significantly decreased ADA levels over sera from patients at diagnosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results therefore suggest that ADA is involved in the pathogenesis and could be used as a clinical marker in the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India.
authors.forename: Kiran
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tripathi
authors.forename: Ramesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Kalpana
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bharti
authors.forename: Pramod
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Rajkamal
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shrivastav
authors.forename: Shyam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sundar
authors.forename: Kalpana
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pai
mesh_terms: D000243:Adenosine Deaminase / Q000097:blood*; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007893:Leishmania donovani / Q000472:pathogenicity; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000097:blood* / Q000469:parasitology; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D000243:Adenosine Deaminase