Abstract

Background: The balance between reactive oxygen species production and antioxidant activity has an important role in oxidative stress associated diseases such as phenylketonuria (PKU). We aimed in this study to evaluate the possible association between oxidative balance and clinical features of PKU patients. Methods: Twenty patients and 50 healthy subjects were selected. Prooxidant-antioxidant balance (PAB) was measured and phenylalanine (Phe), tyrosine (Tyr), Phe/Tyr ratio and hematological indices were determined. Results: A significantly higher PAB value was observed in the patient group (152.0±14.1 HK unit) compared to the controls (88.1±13.88 HK) (p < 0.05). There was significant correlation between PAB with serum Phe, Tyr, Phe/Tyr ratio, white blood cells (WBC) and red blood cells (RBC) counts. Conclusions: The serum PAB values were higher in patients with PKU and this was associated with the serum Phe and Tyr and Phe/Tyr ratio. Therefore, because of its low cost and simplicity to perform, PAB value might be considered as a useful monitoring marker among the other tools in these patients.