Serum manganese-superoxide dismutase in patients with neuromuscular disorders as judged by an ELISA.

Manganese-superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD) concentration was measured in sera from 37 healthy controls and 101 patients with 11 forms of neuromuscular diseases including Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and polymyositis (PMS) by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with the use of a monoclonal antibody against human liver Mn-SOD. Serum from patients with DMD had a significantly (P less than 0.05) lower concentration of Mn-SOD than control serum. On the other hand, the concentration of Mn-SOD was markedly higher in the serum of patients with untreated form of acute PMS. The enzyme appeared to provide a good index for monitoring of responses to treatment of acute PMS. Of other neuromuscular diseases Mn-SOD concentration decreased significantly (P less than 0.05) in Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease and Kennedy-Alter-Sung syndrome but increased significantly (P less than 0.05) in human T-cell lymphotrophic viruses-I-associated myelopathy. This enzyme profile seems to be specific to each neuromuscular disease.