Increased erythrocyte adenosine deaminase activity without haemolytic anaemia

A 4-fold increase of red blood cell adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity was found in a patient without haemolytic anaemia, but with mild anisopoikilocytosis. High-performance liquid chromatography showed a 40% reduction of adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) while all the other nucleotides were in normal ranges. The patient's parents (first cousins) and a brother displayed the same enzyme activities as the controls. This observation suggests that mild increases of ADA activity is neither a marker for congenital hypoplastic anaemia as previously reported nor associated with haemolytic anaemia.