Adenylate kinase activity in the cerebrospinal fluid of hypoxic newborns.

Adenylate kinase (AK) activity in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), described as a marker of brain edema and lesions in adults, was studied in 79 newborns with severe respiratory distress within 24 h after admission to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The CSF-AK activity was compared with CSF lactate concentration, CSF lactate dehydrogenase activity (LDH), and CSF and serum creatine kinase isoenzyme BB (CK-BB) activity. Newborns were divided into Group I with moderate to severe brain dysfunction and Group II with mild or no detectable brain dysfunction on discharge from the ICU. Mean CSF-AK activity (11.31 U/L) in Group I was significantly (p less than 0.001) higher than in Group II (2.82 U/L). Correlation between CSF-AK and CSF lactate was r = 0.714, p less than 0.01 and between CSF-AK activity and CSF-LDH activity was r = 0.550, p less than 0.01 in Group I. Preliminary data indicate that CSF-AK activity within 24 h after ischaemia is an indicator of hypoxic brain lesions in newborns. Its prognostic value for the infant's development remains to be determined by further study.