To characterize purine metabolism in osteoarthritis (OA) and gout arthritis (GA) diagnosis and differential diagnosis of these diseases.
We estimated xanthine oxidase (XA), xanthine dehydrogenase (XDG), 5'-nucleotidase (5'-NT) activity, esoenzymes of XDG and content of uric acid (UA) in the sera of 44 patients with osteoarthritis and 34 patients with gout arthritis.
Hyperuricemia was revealed in 25 percent of patients with osteoarthritis, in 64.7 percent of patients with gout arthritis. XO, XDG, 5'NT activity, XO/XDG activities ratio, XDG-2 esoenzymes and content of UA were increased in OA patients compared to healthy controls. XO, XDG activity, XDG-2 esoenzymes and UA content in GA patients were higher than those in OA patients.
The enzyme difference found may promote differential diagnosis of OA and GA. The enzyme indices essentially depend on clinical specificity of the disease and can be helpful in the assessment of the treatment efficiency.