Many of you have never heard of Phenylketonuria a.k.a. PKU, I know I didn't until the day John told me he was vegetarian. At that point of time I had NO idea what this meant. Not only can he not consume meat or dairy but he has to steer clear of grains including rice. His diet is very limited because of an amino acid called Phenylalanine found in protein. This is a biological metabolic disorder, basically this means you are born with it and you inherit it from your parents. Your parents do not need to have PKU themselves, they just need to be carriers. In John's case his parents are both carriers and had never heard of PKU until his older sister was pricked in the foot at birth for the newborn screening (If it is required by law in your state some states have you do the 2nd test at home, I suggest you do this test evne if the first one came back negative for PKU). If PKU is not detected in time the baby slowly starts becoming mentally retarded. Those with PKU do not have the enzyme that breaks down phenylalanine or phe's and they will build up in the brain and causes the brain to lose brain power.
PKU is something that is not well known until someone gets a call from the lab saying their baby has this disorder and had better come in right away or the baby will become handicap that is why I am taking the opportunity to make you all aware of PKU. So get your babies tested and give someone with PKU a high five.
If you care to know more follow these links
http://npkua.org/index.php
http://www.pkunews.org/about/History_of_PKU.pdf
I never heard of PKU until I met John... but I did notice a thing on the side of Diet Coke that said not to drink it if you had PKU. Thanks for sharing more of what PKU is. I plan on having my baby tested.
ReplyDeleteIt is actually a law that you must get your baby tested. They have to have it done before the baby can leave the hospital. While I was doing my OB rotation I got to do some of the test, it was quite interesting.
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