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This test can reveal elevated phenylalanine levels after one or two days of normal infant feeding. [ 11 ] [ 12 ] If a child is not diagnosed during the routine newborn screening test and a phenylalanine-restricted diet is not introduced, then phenylalanine levels in the blood will increase over time.
People with the genotype for PKU are unaffected in utero, because maternal circulation prevents buildup of [phe]. After birth, PKU in newborns is treated by a special diet with highly restricted phenylalanine content. Persons with genetic predisposition to PKU have normal mental development on this diet.
The normal level of phenyl alanine in plasma is 1–2 mg/dl and in PKU, it normally ranges between 20–65 mg/dl. The main test for confirmation of PKU is the Guthrie test, which is a Bacillus subtilis Bioassay. [citation needed] Phenyl pyruvate in urine can also be detected using Ferric Chloride test. [citation needed]
The routine testing of infants for certain disorders is the most widespread use of genetic testing—millions of babies are tested each year in the United States. All states currently test infants for phenylketonuria (PKU, a genetic disorder that causes mental illness if left untreated) and congenital hypothyroidism (a disorder of the thyroid ...
Two other possible culprits that are usually diagnosed in newborns, according to Dr. Castilla, include biotinidase deficiency (BTD) and phenylketonuria (PKU). The former makes it difficult for the ...
Infants with PKU appear normal at birth, but are unable to metabolize the essential amino acid phenylalanine, resulting in irreversible intellectual disability. In the 1960s, Robert Guthrie developed a simple method using a bacterial inhibition assay that could detect high levels of phenylalanine in blood shortly after a baby was born.
Today a screening blood test for PKU is done on newborns to detect the disease. With a special diet low in phenylalanine, PKU newborns can grow and develop into normal children and adults. Følling's work was too late to save Liv and Dag from severe progressive mental retardation (and in Dag's case, death) but it has saved thousands of children ...
In two years, they had tested 400,000 American newborns, and diagnosed 39 with PKU. This early diagnosis allowed for early treatment and avoidance of the most severe consequences of the disease. [1] Throughout the 1960s, PKU testing expanded in the United States and around the world, eventually becoming required by law in many jurisdictions. [1]