Leucocyte glutamate dehydrogenase in various hereditary ataxias

Leucocyte Glutamate Dehydrogenase (GDH) activity was measured in 44 patients with various forms of ataxia and 44 age and sex-matched normal controls. The only significant change found was a moderate decrease in activity in Friedreich's ataxia and a few patients with OPCA. This decreased activity is not primary to the disease but probably reflects a regulatory defect affecting mitochondrial membranes in these patients.