VALORES DE REFERENCIA DE B-GLUCOSIDASA Y QUITOTRIOSIDASA EN GOTAS DE SANGRE SECA DE LACTANTES VENEZOLANOS.

Gauchers disease is an autosomal recessive disorder and the most common lysosomal storage disease caused by deficiency of ß-glucosidase enzyme activity. Objetive: to establish reference values for lysosomal enzyme activity of ß-glucosidase and chitotriosidase in venezuelan infants. Methods:A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted in 98 healthy infants with ages ranging from 1 month to 24 months (48 females and 50 males). enzymatic activity of ß-glucosidase and chitotriosidase were determined in dried blood spots (dBs) following the protocol by chamoles et al. statistical analysis of data was performed with software sPss 17.0 for Windows statistics. Results: the range of enzymatic activity for ß-glucosidase was 2.3 to 12 nmol/ml/h, with an average of 6.7 ± 2.5. chitotriosidase activity was from 0 to 44.2 nmol/ml/h with an average of 18.4 ± 10.4 using 3mm diameter discs of filter paper with dried blood (approximately 3.6 µl of blood). Conclusions: the reference values of lysosomal enzyme activity in dBs for ß-Glucosidase and quitotriosidase were established for the first time in healthy venezuelan infants; however, these results differ from those reported in international studies, for which reason autochthonous reference values should be determined in different age groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]