Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Cs1 config Template:Infobox medical condition (new) Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an inborn error of metabolism that results in decreased metabolism of the amino acid phenylalanine.<ref name="Al2015">Template:Cite journal</ref> Untreated PKU can lead to intellectual disability, seizures, behavioral problems, and mental disorders.<ref name=NIH2016/><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It may also result in a musty smell and lighter skin.<ref name=NIH2016/> A baby born to a mother who has poorly treated PKU may have heart problems, a small head, and low birth weight.<ref name=NIH2016/>
Phenylketonuria is an inherited genetic disorder. It is caused by mutations in the PAH gene, which can result in inefficient or nonfunctional phenylalanine hydroxylase, an enzyme responsible for the metabolism of excess phenylalanine. This results in the buildup of dietary phenylalanine to potentially toxic levels. It is autosomal recessive, meaning that both copies of the gene must be mutated for the condition to develop. The two main types are classic PKU and variant PKU, depending on whether any enzyme function remains. Those with one copy of a mutated gene typically do not have symptoms.<ref name="NIH2016">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Many countries have newborn screening programs for the disease.<ref name=Al2015/>
Treatment is with a diet low in foods that contain phenylalanine and includes special supplements. Babies should use a special formula with a small amount of breast milk. The diet should begin as soon as possible after birth and continue for life.<ref name="NIH2013Tx">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> People who are diagnosed early and maintain a strict diet can have normal health and a normal lifespan. Effectiveness is monitored through periodic blood tests.<ref name="NIH2000">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The medication sapropterin dihydrochloride may be useful in some.<ref name=NIH2013Tx/>
Phenylketonuria affects about one in 12,000 babies.<ref name="Bern2015">Template:Cite book</ref> Males and females are affected equally.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The disease was discovered in 1934 by Ivar Asbjørn Følling, with the importance of diet determined in 1935.<ref name="Kal2010">Template:Cite book</ref> As of 2023, genetic therapies that aim to directly restore liver PAH activity are a promising and active research field.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Signs and symptomsEdit
Untreated PKU can lead to intellectual disability, seizures, behavioral problems, and mental disorders. It may also result in a musty smell and lighter skin. A baby born to a mother who has poorly treated PKU may have heart problems, a small head, and low birth weight.<ref name=NIH2016/>
Because the mother's body is able to break down phenylalanine during pregnancy, infants with PKU are normal at birth. The disease is not detectable by physical examination at that time, because no damage has yet been done. Newborn screening is performed to detect the disease and initiate treatment before any damage is done. The blood sample is usually taken by a heel prick, typically performed 2–7 days after birth. This test can reveal elevated phenylalanine levels after one or two days of normal infant feeding.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
If a child is not diagnosed during the routine newborn screening test and a phenylalanine-restricted diet is not introduced, then phenylalanine levels in the blood will increase over time. Toxic levels of phenylalanine, along with insufficient levels of tyrosine, can interfere with infant development in ways that have permanent effects. The disease may present clinically with seizures, hypopigmentation (excessively fair hair and skin), and a "musty odor" to the baby's sweat and urine (due to phenylacetate, a carboxylic acid produced by the oxidation of phenylacetone). In most cases, a repeat test should be done around two weeks of age to verify the initial test and uncover any phenylketonuria that was initially missed.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Untreated children often fail to attain early developmental milestones, develop microcephaly, and demonstrate progressive impairment of cerebral function. Hyperactivity, EEG abnormalities, seizures, and severe learning disabilities are major clinical problems later in life. A characteristic "musty or mousy" odor on the skin, as well as a predisposition for eczema, persists throughout life in the absence of treatment.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The damage done to the brain if PKU is untreated during the first months of life is not reversible. Affected children who are detected at birth and treated are much less likely to develop neurological problems or have seizures and intellectual disability, though such clinical disorders are still possible including asthma, eczema, anemia, weight gain, renal insufficiency, osteoporosis, gastritis, esophagus, and kidney deficiencies, kidney stones, and hypertension. Additionally, mood disorders occur 230% higher than controls; dizziness and giddiness occur 180% higher; chronic ischemic heart disease, asthma, diabetes, and gastroenteritis occur 170% higher; and stress and adjustment disorder occur 160% higher.<ref name="pmid30266197">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="pmid31331350">Template:Cite journal</ref> In general, however, outcomes for people treated for PKU are good. Treated people may have no detectable physical, neurological, or developmental problems at all.Template:Citation needed
GeneticsEdit
PKU is an autosomal recessive metabolic genetic disorder. As such, two PKU alleles are required for an individual to experience symptoms of the disease. For a child to inherit PKU, both parents must have and pass on the defective gene.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> If both parents are carriers for PKU, any child they have will have a 25% chance to be born with the disorder, a 50% chance the child will be a carrier, and a 25% chance the child will neither develop nor be a carrier for the disease.<ref name=NIH2000/>
PKU is characterized by homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations in the gene for the hepatic enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH), rendering it nonfunctional.<ref name="Andrews">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp This enzyme is necessary to metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine (Phe) to the amino acid tyrosine. When PAH activity is reduced, Phe accumulates and is converted into phenylpyruvate (also known as phenylketone), which can be detected in the urine.<ref name="Gonzalez, Jason; Willis, Monte S. 118–119">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Carriers of a single PKU allele do not exhibit symptoms of the disease, but appear to be protected to some extent against the fungal toxin ochratoxin A. Louis Woolf suggested that this accounted for the persistence of the allele in certain populations,<ref name="Woolf">Template:Cite journal</ref> in that it confers a selective advantage—in other words, being a heterozygote is advantageous.<ref name="Lewis1997">Template:Cite book</ref>
The gene for PAH is located on chromosome 12 in the bands 12q22-q24.2.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> As of 2000, around 400 disease-causing mutations had been found in the PAH gene. This is an example of allelic genetic heterogeneity.<ref name=NIH2000/>
PathophysiologyEdit
When Phe cannot be metabolized by the body, a typical diet that would be healthy for people without PKU causes abnormally high levels of Phe to accumulate in the blood, which is toxic to the brain. If left untreated (and often even in treatment), complications of PKU include severe intellectual disability, brain function abnormalities, microcephaly, mood disorders, irregular motor functioning, and behavioral problems such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, as well as physical symptoms such as a "musty" odor, eczema, and unusually light skin and hair coloration.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Classical PKUEdit
Classical PKU, and its less severe forms "mild PKU" and "mild hyperphenylalaninemia" are caused by a mutated gene for the enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH), which converts Phe to other essential compounds in the body, in particular tyrosine, which is a conditionally essential amino acid for PKU patients, because without PAH, it cannot be produced in the body through the breakdown of Phe.Template:Citation needed
PAH deficiency causes a spectrum of disorders, including classic phenylketonuria (PKU) and mild hyperphenylalaninemia (also known as "hyperPhe" or "mild HPA"),<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> a less severe accumulation of phenylalanine. Compared to classic PKU patients, patients with "hyperphe" have greater PAH enzyme activity and are able to tolerate larger amounts of phenylalanine in their diets. Without dietary intervention, mild HPA patients have blood Phe levels higher than those with normal PAH activity. Currently, no international consensus exists on the definition of mild HPA, but it is most frequently diagnosed at blood Phe levels between 2 and 6 mg/dL.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Phenylalanine is a large, neutral amino acid (LNAA). LNAAs compete for transport across the blood–brain barrier (BBB) via the large neutral amino acid transporter (LNAAT). If phenylalanine is in excess in the blood, it saturates the transporter. Excessive phenylalanine levels tend to decrease the levels of other LNAAs in the brain. As these amino acids are necessary for protein and neurotransmitter synthesis, Phe buildup triggers the development of the brain, causing intellectual disability.<ref name="Pietz">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Recent research suggests that neurocognitive, psychosocial, quality of life, growth, nutrition, and bone pathology are slightly suboptimal even for patients who are treated and maintain their Phe levels in the target range if their diets are not supplemented with other amino acids.<ref name="pmid20678948">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Classic PKU affects myelination and white-matter tracts in untreated infants; this may be one major cause of neurological problems associated with phenylketonuria. Differences in white-matter development are observable with magnetic resonance imaging. Abnormalities in the gray matter can also be detected,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> particularly in the motor and premotor cortex, thalamus, and the hippocampus.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
PKU may resemble amyloid diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, due to the formation of toxic amyloid-like assemblies of phenylalanine.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Tetrahydrobiopterin-deficient hyperphenylalaninemiaEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}
A rarer form of hyperphenylalaninemia is tetrahydrobiopterin deficiency, which occurs when the PAH enzyme is normal, and a defect is found in the biosynthesis or recycling of the cofactor tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> BH4 is necessary for proper activity of the enzyme PAH, and this coenzyme can be supplemented as treatment. Those with this form of hyperphenylalaninemia may have a deficiency of tyrosine (which is created from phenylalanine by PAH), in which case treatment is supplementation of tyrosine to account for this deficiency.Template:Citation needed
Levels of dopamine can be used to distinguish between these two types. Tetrahydrobiopterin is required to convert Phe to Tyr and is required to convert Tyr to L-DOPA via the enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase. L-DOPA, in turn, is converted to dopamine. Low levels of dopamine lead to high levels of prolactin. By contrast, in classical PKU (without dihydrobiopterin involvement), prolactin levels would be relatively normal.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Citation needed
As of 2020, tetrahydrobiopterin deficiency was known to result from defects in five genes.<ref name="pmid32456656">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Metabolic pathwaysEdit
The enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase normally converts the amino acid phenylalanine into the amino acid tyrosine. If this reaction does not occur, phenylalanine accumulates and tyrosine is deficient. Excessive phenylalanine can be metabolized into phenylketones through the minor route, a transaminase pathway with glutamate. Metabolites include phenylacetate, phenylpyruvate and phenethylamine.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Elevated levels of phenylalanine in the blood and detection of phenylketones in the urine is diagnostic, however, most patients are diagnosed via newborn screening.Template:Citation needed<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
ScreeningEdit
PKU is commonly included in the newborn screening panel of many countries, with varied detection techniques. Most babies born in Europe, North America, and Australia are screened for PKU soon after birth.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref> Screening for PKU is done with bacterial inhibition assay (Guthrie test), immunoassays using fluorometric or photometric detection, or amino acid measurement using tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). Measurements done using MS/MS determine the concentration of Phe and the ratio of Phe to tyrosine, the ratio will be elevated in PKU.<ref name="sarafaglou">Template:Cite book</ref>
TreatmentEdit
PKU is not curable. However, if it is diagnosed early enough, an affected newborn can grow up with normal brain development by managing and controlling phenylalanine ("Phe") levels through diet, or a combination of diet and medication.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> If dietary treatment is not initiated within 2 weeks after birth, the child is likely to develop permanent intellectual disability, even if dietary interventions begin shortly thereafter.<ref name=":1" />
DietEdit
People who follow the prescribed dietary treatment from birth may (but not always) have no symptoms. Their PKU would be detectable only by a blood test. People must adhere to a diet low in Phe for optimal brain development. Since Phe is necessary to synthesize many proteins, it is required for appropriate growth, but levels must be strictly controlled.<ref name=":1" />
Optimal health ranges (or "target ranges") are between 120 and 360 μmol/L or equivalently 2 to 6 mg/dL. This is optimally achieved during at least the first 10 years,<ref>Chapter 55, page 255 Template:Webarchive in:Template:Cite book</ref> to allow the brain to develop normally.Template:Citation needed
The diet requires restricting or eliminating foods high in Phe, such as soybeans, egg whites, shrimp, chicken breast, spirulina, watercress, fish, nuts, crayfish, lobster, tuna, turkey, legumes, and low-fat cottage cheese.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Starchy foods, such as potatoes and corn are generally acceptable in controlled amounts, but the quantity of Phe consumed from these foods must be monitored. A corn-free diet may be prescribed in some cases. A food diary is usually kept to record the amount of Phe consumed with each meal, snack, or drink. An "exchange" system can be used to calculate the amount of Phe in a portion of food from the protein content identified on a nutritional information label. Lower-protein "medical food" substitutes are often used in place of normal bread, pasta, and other grain-based foods, which contain a significant amount of Phe. Many fruits and vegetables are lower in Phe and can be eaten in larger quantities. Infants may still be breastfed to provide all of the benefits of breastmilk, but the quantity must also be monitored and supplementation for missing nutrients will be required. The sweetener aspartame, present in many diet foods and soft drinks, must also be avoided, as aspartame contains phenylalanine.<ref name="cfr">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The amino acid tyrosine becomes essential in people with phenylalanine hydroxylase deficiency. Thus, in addition to the careful reduction of Phe in the diet, Tyr must be supplemented to ensure that nutritional needs are met.<ref name=":1" />
Different people can tolerate different amounts of Phe in their diet. Regular blood tests are used to determine the effects of dietary Phe intake on blood Phe level.Template:Citation needed
Nutritional supplementsEdit
Supplementary "protein substitute" formulas are typically prescribed for people with PKU (starting in infancy) to provide the amino acids and other necessary nutrients that would otherwise be lacking in a low-phenylalanine diet. Tyrosine, which is normally derived from phenylalanine and which is necessary for normal brain function, is usually supplemented. Consumption of the protein substitute formulas can actually reduce phenylalanine levels, probably because it stops the process of protein catabolism from releasing Phe stored in the muscles and other tissues into the blood. Many PKU patients have their highest Phe levels after a period of fasting (such as overnight) because fasting triggers catabolism.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> A diet that is low in phenylalanine but does not include protein substitutes may also fail to lower blood Phe levels, since a nutritionally insufficient diet may also trigger catabolism. For all these reasons, the prescription formula is an important part of the treatment for patients with classic PKU.Template:Citation needed
Evidence supports dietary supplementation with large neutral amino acids (LNAAs).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The LNAAs (e.g. leu, tyr, trp, met, his, ile, val, thr) may compete with phe for specific carrier proteins that transport LNAAs across the intestinal mucosa into the blood and across the blood–brain barrier into the brain. Its use is limited in the US due to the cost but is available in most countries as part of a low protein / PHE diet to replace missing nutrients.Template:Citation needed
Another treatment strategy is casein glycomacropeptide (CGMP), which is a milk peptide naturally free of Phe in its pure form<ref name="pmid15051860">Template:Cite journal</ref> CGMP can substitute for the main part of the free amino acids in the PKU diet and provides several beneficial nutritional effects compared to free amino acids. The fact that CGMP is a peptide ensures that the absorption rate of its amino acids is prolonged compared to free amino acids and thereby results in improved protein retention<ref name="pmid19244369">Template:Cite journal</ref> and increased satiety<ref name="pmid20466571">Template:Cite journal</ref> compared to free amino acids. Another important benefit of CGMP is that the taste is significantly improved<ref name="pmid19244369" /> when CGMP substitutes part of the free amino acids and this may help ensure improved compliance to the PKU diet.Template:Citation needed
Furthermore, CGMP contains a high amount of the Phe-lowering LNAAs, which constitutes about 41 g per 100 g protein<ref name="pmid15051860" /> and will therefore help maintain plasma Phe levels in the target range.
Enzyme substitutesEdit
In 2018, the FDA approved an enzyme substitute called pegvaliase which metabolizes phenylalanine.<ref name="FDA2018Sub">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is for adults who are poorly managed on other treatments.<ref name=FDA2018Sub/>
Tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) (a cofactor for the oxidation of phenylalanine) when taken by mouth can reduce blood levels of this amino acid in some people.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="pmid18230057">Template:Cite journal</ref>
MothersEdit
For women with PKU, it is important for the health of their children to maintain low Phe levels before and during pregnancy.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Though the developing fetus may only be a carrier of the PKU gene, the intrauterine environment can have very high levels of phenylalanine, which can cross the placenta. The child may develop congenital heart disease, growth retardation, microcephaly, and intellectual disability as a result.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> PKU-affected women themselves are not at risk of additional complications during pregnancy.Template:Citation needed
In most countries, women with PKU who wish to have children are advised to lower their blood Phe levels (typically to between 2 and 6 mg/dL) before they become pregnant, and carefully control their levels throughout the pregnancy. This is achieved by performing regular blood tests and adhering very strictly to a diet, in general, monitored on a day-to-day basis by a specialist metabolic dietitian. In many cases, as the fetus' liver begins to develop and produce PAH normally, the mother's blood Phe levels will drop, requiring an increased intake to remain within the safe range of 2–6 mg/dL. The mother's daily Phe intake may double or even triple by the end of the pregnancy, as a result. When maternal blood Phe levels fall below 2 mg/dL, anecdotal reports indicate that the mothers may experience adverse effects, including headaches, nausea, hair loss, and general malaise. When low phenylalanine levels are maintained for the duration of pregnancy, there are no elevated levels of risk of birth defects compared with a baby born to a non-PKU mother.<ref name="web">lsuhsc.edu Template:Webarchive Genetics and Louisiana Families</ref>
EpidemiologyEdit
| Country | Incidence | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 1 in 10,000<ref name="pmid18566668" /> | |
| Brazil | 1 in 8,690 | |
| Canada | 1 in 22,000<ref name="pmid18566668" /> | |
| China | 1 in 17,000<ref name="pmid18566668">Template:Cite journal</ref> | |
| Czechoslovakia | 1 in 7,000<ref name="pmid18566668" /> | |
| Denmark | 1 in 12,000<ref name="pmid18566668" /> | |
| Finland | 1 in 200,000<ref name="pmid18566668" /> | |
| France | 1 in 13,500<ref name="pmid18566668" /> | |
| India | 1 in 18,300 | |
| Ireland | 1 in 4,500<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> | |
| Italy | 1 in 17,000<ref name="pmid18566668" /> | |
| Japan | 1 in 125,000<ref name="pmid18566668" /> | |
| Korea | 1 in 41,000<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> | |
| Netherlands | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| Norway | 1 in 14,500<ref name="pmid18566668" /> | |
| Philippines | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| Poland | 1 in 8,000<ref name=":0" /> | |
| Scotland | 1 in 5,300<ref name="pmid18566668" /> | |
| Spain | 1 in 20,000<ref name=":0" /> | |
| Sweden | 1 in 20,000<ref name=":0" /> | |
| Turkey | 1 in 2,600<ref name="pmid18566668" /> | |
| United Kingdom | 1 in 10,000<ref name=":0" /> | |
| United States | 1 in 25,000<ref name="medscape947781">Template:EMedicine</ref> |
The average number of new cases of PKU varies in different human populations. United States Caucasians are affected at a rate of 1 in 10,000.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Turkey has the highest documented rate in the world, with 1 in 2,600 births, while countries such as Finland and Japan have extremely low rates with fewer than one case of PKU in 100,000 births. A 1987 study from Slovakia reports a Roma population with an extremely high incidence of PKU (one case in 40 births) due to extensive inbreeding.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It is the most common amino acid metabolic problem in the United Kingdom.Template:Citation needed
HistoryEdit
Before the causes of PKU were understood, PKU caused severe disability in most people who inherited the relevant mutations. Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Pearl S. Buck had a daughter named Carol who lived with PKU before treatment was available, and wrote an account of its effects in a book called The Child Who Never Grew.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Many untreated PKU patients born before widespread newborn screening are still alive, largely in dependent living homes/institutions.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Phenylketonuria was discovered by the Norwegian physician Ivar Asbjørn Følling in 1934<ref name="Følling">Template:Cite journal</ref> when he noticed hyperphenylalaninemia (HPA) was associated with intellectual disability. In Norway, this disorder is known as Følling's disease, named after its discoverer.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Følling was one of the first physicians to apply detailed chemical analysis to the study of disease.Template:Citation needed
In 1934 at Rikshospitalet, Følling saw a young woman named Borgny Egeland. She had two children, Liv and Dag, who had been normal at birth but subsequently developed intellectual disability. When Dag was about a year old, the mother noticed a strong smell in his urine. Følling obtained urine samples from the children and, after many tests, he found that the substance causing the odor in the urine was phenylpyruvic acid. The children, he concluded, had excess phenylpyruvic acid in the urine, the condition which came to be called phenylketonuria (PKU).<ref name="Gonzalez, Jason; Willis, Monte S. 118–119" />
His analysis of the urine of the two affected siblings led him to request many physicians near Oslo to test the urine of other affected patients. This led to the discovery of the same substance he had found in eight other patients. He conducted tests and found reactions that gave rise to benzaldehyde and benzoic acid, which led him to conclude that the compound contained a benzene ring. Further testing showed the melting point to be the same as phenylpyruvic acid, which indicated that the substance was in the urine.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
In 1954, Horst Bickel, Evelyn Hickmans and John Gerrard published a paper that described how they created a diet that was low in phenylalanine and the patient recovered. Bickel, Gerrard, and Hickmans were awarded the John Scott Medal in 1962 for their discovery.<ref name="CWTL">Template:Citation</ref>
PKU was the first disorder to be routinely diagnosed through widespread newborn screening. Robert Guthrie introduced the newborn screening test for PKU in the early 1960s.<ref name="pkureview">Template:Cite journal</ref> With the knowledge that PKU could be detected before symptoms were evident, and treatment initiated, screening was quickly adopted around the world. Ireland was the first country to introduce a national screening programme in February 1966,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Austria also started screening in 1966<ref name="austriascreening">Template:Cite journal</ref> and England in 1968.<ref name="englandscreening">Template:Cite journal</ref>
In 2017, the European Guidelines were published.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> They were called for by the patient organizations such as the European Society for Phenylketonuria and Allied Disorders Treated as Phenylketonuria.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> They have received some critical reception.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Etymology and pronunciationEdit
The word phenylketonuria uses combining forms of phenyl + ketone + -uria; it is pronounced Template:IPAc-enTemplate:RefnTemplate:Refn.
ResearchEdit
Other therapies are under investigation, including gene therapy.
BioMarin is conducting clinical trials to investigate PEG-PAL (PEGylated recombinant phenylalanine ammonia lyase or 'PAL'), which is an enzyme substitution therapy in which the missing PAH enzyme is replaced with an analogous enzyme that also breaks down Phe. PEG-PAL was in Phase 2 clinical development as of 2015,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> but was put on clinical hold in September 2021. In February 2022, the FDA issued a statement requiring further data from non-clinical studies to assess oncogenic risk resulting from PEG-PAL treatments.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>