Saudi aminoacidemias: a six-year study.

More than 2,500 samples were analyzed and we found 135 abnormal amino acid patients in different categories. The major four diseases are: Maple syrup urine disease (MSUD), Phenylketonuria (PKU) both classical PKU due to L-phenylalanine hydroxylase deficiency and 6-pyruvoyl tetrahydropterin synthase (6PTPS) deficiency, homocystinuria and Tyrosinemia.

The diagnosis and management of MSUD in Saudi Arabia by using two different methods.

Plasma amino acid concentrations were measured in Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD) infants using reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The technique involved an automated data acquisition system and phenylisothiocyanate (PITC) pre-column derivatization. During a period of three years more than 14 cases of MSUD have been confirmed in our hospital suggesting an alarmingly high rate of incidence of this disease in the Kingdom as compared to the West. We present here a simple and reliable method of quantitating the branched chain and other amino acid concentrations in plasma samples of children with metabolic disorders. In addition, we also present a fluorimetric COBAS based enzymatic method for the rapid semiquantitative measurement of branched chain amino acids for a disease in which a prompt initial diagnosis is essential.