[Features of the metabolic activity of the mononuclear phagocytic system in multiple sclerosis patients].

Metabolic activity of the mononuclear phagocytic system (MPS) was studied in 65 patients with disseminated sclerosis (DS) and 65 control persons by determination of the test-substance biotransformation intensity. Sulfadimezine undergoing acetylation in MPS cells was chosen as a test-substance. Sulfadimezine was administered per os; both unchanged drug and its acetylated metabolite were detected in urine in 6 hours. Correlation between acetylated and non-acetylated sulfadimezine levels permitted dividing the examinees into "rapid" or "slow" acetylators (inactivators). Patients with DS belong mainly to slow acetylators since the test-substance in MPS cells of these patients is inactivated slowly. Correlation between "slow" and "rapid" acetylators in patients with DS was 5:1, that in the control group 2:1. A similar pattern was reported previously in patient with systemic lupus erythematosus. New approaches to the mechanisms of DS development based on MPS functions analysis are outlined.