The Activity of Lactic Dehydrogenase in Megaloblastic Anaemia

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Abstract
Lactic dehydrogenase activity (LDH) was examined in patients with megaloblastic anaemia and other types of anaemia. Only in untreated megaloblastic anaemia was LDH consistently increased. The increase was not related to the concentration of vitamin B12 and bilirubin in serum. Nor was there any definite relation to the degree of anaemia, but the number of patients examined was too small to permit any final conclusion on this point. The mean LDH value in megaloblastic anaemia was 3,800 units, while the mean value among controls was 257 units. There was a rapid fall in LDH activity during treatment with vitamin B12, corresponding to the increase in reticulocyte counts. In the other types of anaemia studied – acute haemorrhage, chronic haemorrhage and iron deficiency, myelomatosis, aplastic anaemia and anaemia due to renal failure – LDH activity was usually normal or only slightly increased, except in renal failure. In the latter condition the highest LDH value was 830 units, whereas the lowest value in patients with megaloblastic anaemia was 1,510 units.It is therefore concluded that LDH determinations are of diagnostic aid in differentiating megaloblastic anaemia from other types of anaemia.