[Activity of aryl sulfatase A enzyme in patients with schizophrenic disorders]

Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) is a degenerative disease caused by the deficiency of aryl sulfatase (ASA). It can course with psychiatric symptoms. We determined the prevalence of ASA deficiency in a group of 23 patients with presumable schizophrenia. The median serum ASA was 53.2 nmol/mL/h (range 3.3-152.5). Six patients (26%) showed low ASA activity (< 27.5 nmol/mL/h which is the lowest value observed in 29 normal controls); five of them had clinical history of delusions of grandeur, auditive hallucinations, multiple hospitalizations, low response to neuroleptics, and abnormal evoked potentials. It is probable that the schizophrenic symptoms in these patients may be due to the enzyme deficiency. We conclude that the assay is useful in clinical practice as it may help to identify cases of MLD in patients with suspected schizophrenia.