So Google provides me with more information, most of it varying as per usual.
This article indicates that healthy controls have an average of 10.69 so my level would be at the very bottom of "normal".
J Res Med Sci. 2013 March; 18(3): 252–254.
PMCID: PMC3732909
Diagnostic value of serum adenosine deaminase level in pulmonary tuberculosis
Shahla Afrasiabian,
Behzad Mohsenpour,
Katayoun Haji Bagheri,1
Naseh Sigari,2 and
Kaveh Aftabi2
Author information ► Article notes ► Copyright and License information►
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Abstract
Background:
In some studies, the level of adenosine deaminase (ADA) in sputum and effusion liquids was used for the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB). But it is not always possible to access these materials. The goal of this study is to assess the diagnostic value of serum ADA levels in pulmonary TB patients.
Materials and Methods:
In this study, 40 sputum smear-positive TB patients who were hospitalized and 40 non-TB patients who referred for surgeries were selected. A serum sample was collected and serum ADA level was measured by ADA kit.
Results:
The average (SD) of serum ADA in TB and non-TB patients were 20.88 (±5.97) and 10.69 (±2.98) U/L, respectively (
P value < 0.05). The best cut-off point was 14 U/L. The calculated area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.955 (95% CI, 0.914-0.995); sensitivity was 92.7% (95% CI, 84.7-100) and specificity was 88.1% (95% CI, 78.3-97.8) (
P < 0.001).
This study indicates that a normal range for Saudi women would be 15-23 U/L. So that makes my 8 look low.
Is there any reason that American women would be substantially different from Saudi women in this respect?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/17587984/
Establishment of a normal reference range for adenosine deaminase in plasma of healthy Saudis using the continuous spectrophotometric method.
Authors
Al-Shammary FJ, et al. Show all
Journal
Ann Saudi Med. 1993 Jan;13(1):14-8.
Affiliation
Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, and Department of Medicine, King Saud University, College of Medicine, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Abstract
The level of adenosine deaminase (EC. 3.5.4.4), was estimated in plasma of 389 healthy males and 493 healthy females in order to establish a normal reference range for Saudis. Using the continuous spectrophotometric method, the reference ranges were calculated in two ways using the mean +/- 2 SD and the 2.5th - 97.5th percentile value methods. In both methods of calculation, a slightly higher range was observed for children as compared to adults. The method of 2.5th - 97.5th percentile values brought almost all of our subjects within the recommended range of 11.5 - 25 U/l. In the current study, the normal range for adenosine deaminase totalled 15.0 - 23.2, 14.8 - 23.6, 15.0 - 23.0 and 16.7 - 24.6 U/l for the overall population, all males, females, and children, respectively. The ranges are discussed in the light of significantly different results obtained by the two calculation methods and recommendation of an appropriate method for healthy Saudis, namely the 2.5th - 97.5th percentile values. The choice of the Ellis and Goldberg kinetic continous monitoring method for the estimation of plasma ADA levels in the current investigation is also hereby justified.
Another study suggests that a normal range should be 5-35 U/L.
http://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/medical/issues/sag-04-34-5/sag-34-5-5-0404-3.pdf
This article has units that don't match up to the rest and don't convert to anything that makes sense to me. U/mL instead of U/L.
But I think it is interesting in how it discusses T cell activation and ADA levels. Shouldn't one with high levels of T cells then have high levels of ADA based on this hypothesis? So if one (ie me) has high levels of T cells and lower than average ADA levels, doesn't that also indicate a possible issue?
Summary : Adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity is a nonspecific marker of T cell activation. T cell activation is thought to play an important role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Our purpose was to assess the significance of serum ADA activity in psoriasis and its relevance to disease activity. ADA activity was determined with an enzymatic method in 25 patients with psoriasis and in 15 healthy subjects. These measurements were repeated for 10 patients after either PUVA or cyclosporin A treatments. Disease activity was estimated by the PASI scoring system. Serum ADA level was significantly elevated in patients with psoriasis compared to healthy subjects (p < 0.05). There was a significant decrease in the ADA levels after treatment compared to pretreatment values in the same patients (p < 0.05). There was no correlation between ADA levels and PASI scores.These results support the evidence that T cell activation is involved in the pathogenesis of psoriasis and that ADA may be valuable in the assessment of disease activity in psoriasis.
http://www.jle.com/e-docs/00/01/8a/26/article.phtml
