The role of phenylalanine levels in the neuropsychological and neuroanatomical status of adult patients with phenylketonuria: The impact of fluctuations

Abstract

We aimed to evaluate the role of plasma phenylalanine (Phe) levels and its fluctuations in some neurocognitive domains and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in adult patients with phenylketonuria (PKU). It was an observational study that included patients older than 18 years with early-treated classical PKU. Plasma Phe levels were measured every other month throughout 2 years and predictor variables were the mean, maximum (max), minimum (min), range (min–max), and plasma Phe levels at the time of cognitive testing. Patients were evaluated for executive function, processing speed, visual attention, and fluid cognitive abilities using the Trail Making Test (TMT) and for the presence of brain MRI abnormalities. In all, 22 patients with a mean age of 34 years were included, of which 18 (81%) were women. Patients with higher range and maximum Phe levels had a poorer time-based performance on TMT form A and form B. Patients with brain MRI abnormalities had higher range, maximum, and mean Phe levels. Range of Phe levels showed a good performance for MRI abnormalities (area under the curve (AUC): 0.881, standard error (SE): 0.095, 95% CI: 0.695–0.999, p = 0.044) and for the poorest time-based performances on TMT form A (AUC: 0.822, SE: 0.092, 95% CI: 0.641–0.999, p = 0.024) and B (AUC: 0.816, SE: 0.094, 95% CI: 0.632–0.999, p = 0.021). Greater Phe variability may have a negative impact on some neurocognitive domains and could be related to the severity of brain structural damage in adult patients with PKU.