AIDS is an often fatal disease thought to be caused by a retrovirus (LAV) frequently resulting in malignancy such as Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and/or opportunistic infection (01). One AIDS related disease is lymphadenopathy syndrome (LAS) which may progress to KS or OI. Because the immune deficiency in AIDS is similar to that in some purine enzyme deficiencies we measured erythrocyte ADA and purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) activities (nm/mgHg/hr) in patients with AIDS, heterosexual controls (CONT) and a high risk asymptomatic population (RISK). ADA was signifcantly elevated in the AIDS patients and in 5/11 RISK patients while PNP was normal (mean ± SD):Increased ADA appears to be a diagnostic marker of AIDS and may be useful as a prognostic indicator of disease progression in asymptomatic high risk individuals.
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