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Background: Blood-related hereditary diseases are widespread in Eastern and SouthWestern regions of Saudi Arabia until recently. In this study, we used Na+, K+ ATPase as an enzymatic indicator for the diagnosis of the diseases.

Materials and methods: Individuals with different blood diseases (iron deficiency (n= 13), anemia (n= 14), thalassemia (n= 16) and sickle cell anemia (n= 12) were studied for Na+, K+-ATPase activity in the plasma membrane of red blood cell and compared with those of the healthy ones (n= 20) of the same age and gender living in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Results: There was a significant elevation in the specific activity of Na+, K+ ATPase in individuals with anemia compared with those of control (0.0094+ 0.001 nmol/mg protein/min versus 0.0061 0.001). On the other hand, there was a significant reduction in enzyme activity in thalassemia (0.0028 0.002 nmol/mg protein/min) and sickle cell anemia cases (0.0042 0.001 nmol/mg protein/min) compared to the control group. The cut off value for Na+, K+ ATPase activity is 0.005 μmol Pi/minshowing 94% sensitivity and 93% specificity for the differentiation of blood abnormality.

Conclusion: It can be recommended that the activity of Na+, K+-ATPase can be used for the diagnosis of individuals with blood diseases/disorders.