ERYTHROCYTE ANTIOXIDANT ENZYME-ACTIVITIES IN CHILDREN WITH MYELOMENINGOCELE

Erythrocyte free radical scavenging enzyme activities and their cofact or trace elements in plasma were assessed in 26 selected patients with myelomeningocele, both parents from 10 selected families, and 14 heal thy adult controls. All index children except one were deficient in er ythrocyte glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px). Nine of 10 parent pairs had at least one parent with deficient GSH-Px activity. Children with mye lomeningocele had significantly lower GSH-Px activities than their par ents; the group of 10 parent pairs had significantly lower GSH-Px acti vities than the control group; and glutathione reductase activities we re significantly lower in parents and children with myelomeningocele c ompared with controls. A deficiency in one or more antioxidant enzymes may increase the risk for neural tube defects.