_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Corresponding author: Email: msakran2011@gmail.com; Original Research Article Journal of International Research in Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences 5(3): 146-151, 2015 ISSN: 2395-4477 (P), ISSN: 2395-4485 (O) International Knowledge Press www.ikpress.org ADENOSINE DEAMINASE ACTIVITY IN SERUM OF TYPE II SAUDI DIABETIC PATIENTS MOHAMED SAKRAN 1,2* , M. A. AL-DUAIS 1,3 , KAMAL A. F. SHALABY 1,4 AND ABEER ABDEL- HAMID AHMED KHAMIS 2 1 Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. 2 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Tanta 31527, Egypt. 3 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Ibb University, Ibb70270, Yemen. 4 Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Gizza, Egypt. AUTHORS’ CONTRIBUTIONS This work was carried out in collaboration between all authors. Authors MS and KAFS designed the study, wrote the protocol and interpreted the data. Authors MAAD and AAHAK anchored the field study, gathered the initial data and performed preliminary data analysis. Authors MS and MAAD managed the literature searches and produced the initial draft. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Received: 31 st July 2015 Accepted: 11 th August 2015 Published: 24 th August 2015 __________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most causative important factors of mortality in the developing countries. Adenosine deaminase (ADA) is a purine metabolizing enzyme that catalyzes the deamination of adenosine to inosine. The aim of the work was to evaluate the diagnostic value of serum ADA and its association with hyperglycemia in type II Saudi diabetic patients at Tabuk region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Seventy one Type II Saudi diabetic patients and twenty four healthy controls were enrolled in this study. Fasting blood sugar (FBS), Serum levels of ADA, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), alanine amino transferase (ALT), aspartate amino transferase (AST), urea, creatinine, uric acid, Malondialdhyde (MDA), Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx) and Superoxide dismutase (SOD) were measured. Results: There was a significant increase (p<0.05) in serum ADA, TC, TG, HbA1c, ALT, AST, urea, creatinine, uric acid and MDA in diabetic group compared to the controls, while the levels of GPx and SOD were significantly decreased (p<0.05) in diabetic group compared to the controls. Conclusion: The in serum activity of adenosine deaminase was to be a good diagnostic marker for type II Saudi diabetes where it is significantly correlated with glycemic status. Keywords: Adenosine deaminase; type II Saudi diabetes; Tabuk region. 1. INTRODUCTION Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the important factors of mortality in the developing countries where it affects more than 170 million persons all over the world [1]. It is characterized by insulin deficiency which leads to hyperglycemia and the disturbances of carbohydrate, lipid, and protein metabolism [2]. Hyperglycemia leads to increased oxidative stress by forming free radicals and superoxide ions and increases adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity [3]. ADA is a purine metabolizing enzyme that catalyzes