Serum and urinary ribonuclease in children with schistosomal hepatic fibrosis

Serum and urinary RNase activity was determined in 15 normal children and in 52 children in various clinical stages of schistosomal hepatic fibrosis. The activity of serum RNase was compared with that of serum GOT, GPT and AP. The activity of serum and urinary RNase in the different schistosomal groups was significantly higher than in healthy children. The elevated levels of serum and urinary RNase activity were possibly due to malnutrition with tissue catabolism, zinc-deficiency and liver cell injury. Treatment with Astiban and protein-rich diet resulted in a significant decrease in serum and urinary RNase activity and an insignificant drop in serum GOT, GPT and AP. Serum and urinary RNase appear to be more sensitive indices for evaluating the early metabolic disturbances in schistosomal patients than GOT, GPT or AP. Our findings also showed that the severity of cases could be graded according to the level of urinary RNase.