Abstract
A rapid and simple quantitative assay has been employed to measure the arylsulfatase A activity in urine samples from 173 individuals. This group includes three patients with late infantile metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD), three patients with the adult form of metachromatic leukodystrophy, seven patients with other lysosomal disorders, and a control group. The average urinary arylsulfatase A activity of the MLD patients was 3.4% of the average activity found in the control group. In marked contrast, the arylsulfatase for the seven patients with other lysosomal disorders was found to be elevated in most of the urine samples tested.
