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Article: New warning for expectant PKU moms. (phenylketonuria)
- Article from:
- Medical Update
- Article date:
- April 1, 1989
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1989 Benjamin Franklin Literary & Medical Society, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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NEW WARNING FOR EXPECTANT PKU MOMS
Once believed to be something that had to be controlled only from infancy through adolescence, phenylketonuria (PKU) is now manifesting itself in the form of birth defects in the fetuses of pregnant women who have it themselves, but are no longer restricting their diets.
PKU is an inherited inability to metabolize the common amino acid phenylalanine, a byproduct of digestion essential for life. If not metabolized, the amino acid accumulates to toxic levels in the tissues. Mental retardation, epileptic seizures and abnormal brain wave patterns can result. Nerve cell damage manifests itself in infants four to six months old ...