Phenylketonuria (PKU) is the most common autosomal recessive disorder of amino acid metabolism. The disease is caused mainly by mutations in the phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) gene, encoding phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) enzyme. The PAH enzyme deficiency results in the elevation of phenylalanine in the blood, which may cause severe irreversible mental retardation in the affected individuals....

Among aminoacidopathies, phenylketonuria (PKU) is the most prevalent one. Early diagnosis in the neonatal period with a prompt nutritional therapy (low natural-protein and phenylalanine diet, supplemented with phenylalanine-free amino acid mixtures and special low-protein foods) remains the mainstay of the treatment. Data considering nutrient contents of cooked dishes is lacking. In this study,...

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a metabolic disorder, in which loss of phenylalanine hydroxylase activity results in neurotoxic levels of phenylalanine. We used the Pah(enu2/enu2) PKU mouse model in short- and long-term studies of enzyme substitution therapy with PEGylated phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PEG-PAL conjugates) from 4 different species. The most therapeutically effective PAL (Av, Anabaena va...

A 19 year old male with phenylketonuria (PKU) developed a spastic paparesis 8 months after stopping his restricted phenylalanine diet. CT and MRI showed abnormalities of the deep cerebral white matter, and visual evoked response latencies were prolonged. The spasticity gradually improved over several months after resuming the PKU diet. A repeat MRI scan was unchanged. His brother also had PKU a...

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a rare metabolic disorder characterized by impaired conversion of phenylalanine (Phe) to tyrosine. If left untreated, the resultant accumulation of excess blood Phe can cause physiological, neurological, and intellectual disabilities. The National PKU Alliance (NPKUA) conducted a survey of its membership to assess current health status and interest in new treatments for...

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is the most common autosomal recessive disorder of amino acid metabolism. Thedisease is caused mainly by mutations in the phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) gene, encoding phenylalaninehydroxylase (PAH) enzyme. The PAH enzyme deficiency results in the elevation of phenylalanine inthe blood, which may cause severe irreversible mental retardation in the affect...

Sleep problems have not been directly reported in phenylketonuria (PKU). In PKU, the metabolic pathway of phenylalanine is disrupted, which, among others, causes deficits in the neurotransmitters and sleep modulators dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. Understanding sleep problems in PKU patients may help explain the pathophysiology of brain dysfunction in PKU patients. In this explorative...

Early-treated phenylketonuria (PKU) is associated with a range of neuropsychological impairments. Proposed mechanisms for these impairments include dopamine depletion and white matter pathology. Neuroimaging studies demonstrate high-signal intensity in the periventricular white matter in most PKU patients, which can extend into subcortical and frontal regions in more severe cases. A review of h...

Sapropterin dihydrochloride (BH4) reduces phenylalanine (Phe) levels and improves white matter integrity in a subset of individuals with phenylketonuria (PKU) known as "responders." Although prior research has identified biochemical and genotypic differences between BH4 responders and non-responders, cognitive and neural differences remain largely unexplored. To this end, we compared intelligen...

Phenylketonuria (PKU) results from a deficiency in phenylalanine hydroxylase, the enzyme catalyzing the conversion of phenylalanine (PHE) to tyrosine. Although this inborn error of metabolism was among the first in humans to be understood biochemically and genetically, little is known of the mechanism(s) involved in the pathology of PKU. We have combined mouse germline mutagenesis with screens ...