What is the ratio between male and females who have the disorder?
They are roughly equal. 10. How long, roughly will it take before the NTBC drug will be safe for use? There is clinical trial in progress at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. It is a clinical trial looking at the benefit of NTBC in retarding progression of joint disease in patients with alkaptonuria. The study is designed to last 3 years. After the study is finished, it would probably take sometime to get NTBC approved for clinical use in patients with alkaptonuria, it could be up to 4 or 5 years from now before NTBC is available, this is if the trial shows that the drug is safe for use and does help with the joint problems.
