Serum Adenosine deaminase activity in type 2 Diabetes Mellitus patients

The assessment of insulin resistance is advantageous since it detects those at risk for the development of diabetes mellitus at early stages and minimizes complications. Various methods like euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp technique, fasting serum insulin levels, HOMA and QUICKI have been used to determine insulin sensitivity but they have limitations. Adenosine deaminase (ADA) is an enzyme that has been suggested to be important for modulating the bioactivity of insulin. The aim of this study was to determine the activity of serum adenosine deaminase (ADA) in patients of type 2 diabetes mellitus and to evaluate the role of serum adenosine deaminase as a marker for insulin resistance. The study recruited 46 subjects of Type 2 diabetes mellitus and 40 healthy controls matched for age and sex between May 2010 and November 2010. Fasting serum glucose, insulin, adenosine deaminase activity were estimated. QUICKI and HOMA were calculated. Serum ADA was positively correlated with fasting serum glucose, insulin, HOMA and negatively correlated with QUICKI in the diabetic group. At 95 % CI and a cut off of 36.91U/L serum ADA activity in the diabetic group showed a sensitivity and specificity of 98 % and 90 % respectively. Serum ADA activity was increased with an increase in insulin resistance in the diabetic population. ADA may be used as a marker of insulin resistance and can be employed as an effective tool in screening for insulin resistance and diabetes mellitus.