Abstract:
The work is presented in two parts:- firstly, the
acetyla.tion -pttern of sulphamethazine (SZ) in leprosy
patients of Ibo origin, and, secondly, the assessment of the
degree of similarity or lack of it, between the esterases tkit
hydrolyse procaine and acetylcholine in plesma.
In the first pzrt, it was found that both control subjects
and leprosy patients showed a bimodal frequency distribution in
respect of the percent acetylated SMZ in both their glasza znd
urine. Cfth76 leprosy patients studied,39 were classified as
. . . -
"slod'~cetylators, with C= estimte of gene frequency, q = 0.72
as apZnst 32 (q = 0.72) in the 61 control subjects. Tne diffwe-
mce betxeen the phenotypic distribution of these patients
and the control subjects was not statistically sipiTicant
(p ) 0.05). Althou& leprosy disease does not appezr to inyluence
the phenotnic distributi.ons, statistical analysis shows
that the difference between the means of percent acetylation
in the slow acetylator phenotypes in tine patients and control
subjects is statistically significant (t = 4.86, D.F. = 69,
p < 0.02), indicating a possible involvement of an intrinsic
' 4
factor'y,robably madiated by the disease.
In the seaond part, the frequency distributions of procsinesterzse
activity in 86 control subjects and 57 leprosy
patients were found to be bimodal, and, as a result, the
individuals could be classified as I a w (Lo) and High (Hi)
activity phenotypes. There were sex and disease associated
variations in the patterns of the hydrolysis of procaine
p ( 0.05), whereas no ~ignific~otg nffect was obsemed.
Although the frequenay distributions of acetylcholinestarase
activity irn 66 control subjects was bimodal, there were no
significant sex or age effects on the polymorhism. Statistical
analysis of the polymorphic distribution of procainestcrase
a~etylchol~esterasaec tivities, thus, showed a probable dissimilarity
between the two enzymes from the genetic point of
