Diagnostic value of serum lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme and amino acid patterns in several schistosomal and non-schistosomal disorders as compared to other biochemical parameters.

Serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) isoenzyme and amino acid (a.a) patterns were evaluated in comparison to several other biochemical parameters for liver and renal function with the objective of clarifying the differential diagnosis of hepatic disorders and predicting the outcome of schistosomal infection in Egyptian patients. Patients examined included those with complicated hepatic disorders and others with different stages of schistosomal infestation, hepatoma or bladder cancer, in addition to a normal control group. Several biochemical parameters appeared to be useful in establishing consistent differences or similarities between the studied groups. Examples are; elevated serum AST/ALT ratio and methionine content in chronic schistosomiasis, elevated serum urea/creatinine ratio and leucine content in all schistosomal patients and extremely high levels of N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) in the urine of non-schistosomal bladder cancer patients. In addition, characteristic LDH isoenzyme profiles distinguish between the studied groups, in particular separating chronic schistosomiasis from schistosomal bladder cancer and hepatoma from other hepatic disorders.