SummaryTo investigate a possible disorder of adenine nucleotide turnover in Duchenne muscular dystrophy, we evaluated 15 patients with mild Duchenne muscular dystrophy, eight patients with severe muscular dystrophy, seven patients with other neuromuscular disorders, and eight patients with hypogammaglobulinemia but no muscle disease. The serum urate concentration was similar in all four groups. Base line urinary purine excretion was elevated in all patients with neuromuscular disease with values of 1.72 ± 0.15, 2.37 ± 0.22, 2.49 ± 0.35, and 2.60 ± 0.48 µmoles/100 ml glomerular filtration for control subjects, mild Duchenne muscular dystrophy, severe disease, and other neuromuscular diseases, respectively.Adenine nucleotide pool turnover was measured by labeling with [8-14C]adenine and then 5 days later administering intravenous fructose. Five-day cumulative mean radioactivity excretion was elevated in mild and severe Duchenne muscular dystrophy with excretion values of 11.4 ± 0.7 and 11.5 ± 1.1% of administered radioactivity, respectively, as compared to 9.0 ± 0.9% of administered radioactivity for control subjects. After intravenous fructose infusion, patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy had a less than normal rise in serum urate concentration, a normal increase of urinary purine excretion, and a greater than normal elevation of urinary radioactivity excretion and urinary purine specific activity. Patients with other neuromuscular diseases had virtually no rise in plasma urate concentration, less than normal increase in urinary total purine excretion, and a greater than normal increase of urinary radioactivity excretion and urinary specific activity.These observations suggest that there is an increased rate of adenine nucleotide turnover in Duchenne muscular dystrophy. In patients with other neuromuscular disease an increased rate of adenine nucleotide turnover resembled the abnormality expected from a diminshed adenine nucleotide pool.SpeculationThe accelerated turnover of adenine nucleotides in Duchenne muscular dystrophy may result from the proposed membrane defect. Treatment directed toward increasing the synthesis of ATP may be beneficial in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.