Clinical Trial: Phenylbutyrate Therapy for Maple Syrup Urine Disease

Study Status: Active, not recruiting
Recruit Status: Active, not recruiting
Study Type: Interventional




Official Title: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Phenylbutyrate in the Treatment of Maple Syrup Urine Disease

Brief Summary:

The investigators have learned in past research that the drug phenylbutyrate can decrease the amounts of branched chain amino acids and their byproducts in the bloodstreams of healthy volunteer patients and also patients with certain disorders of protein breakdown including maple syrup urine disease. Through this study, the investigators will try to find out how well phenylbutyrate (NaPBA), also known by name brand "Buphenyl-TM", decreases BCAA and branched chain keto chain acids in the blood of patients with MSUD. The investigators hope is that through this research the investigators will be better able to treat these patients.

Subjects with MSUD will take phenylbutyrate (NaPBA) in powder form for a two-week treatment period and powder placebo, a substance with no effect on the body, for a two-week treatment period. They will be given the same amount of powder and undergo the same laboratory testing during both of the two-week treatment periods. The results will be compared once the study is over.