Tramaa+Phenylketonuria

Phenylketonuria (PKU) Phenylketonuria, is a disorder that affects the way the body breaks down protein. If not treated, after birth, it will be destructive to the nervous system, causing mental retardation.
 * Description: **


 * Inheritance: **

PKU is a recessive disorder, meaning you need to inherit genes to get the symptoms of PKU. The carrier does not have to symptoms of the disease, but can be passed on the gene to their children. If both parents are carriers, their child will be 25% chance of getting PKU.

There are no symptoms, at first. If the disease is left untreated babies will experience brain damage. This damage can cause brain disorders, behavioral problems. Other symptoms are skin rash, and small head.
 * Symptoms: **


 * Daily Life: **

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 * Diagnosis: **

PKU must be treated early, babies in every US state are tested for the disorder. A small blood sample is taken from the baby’s heel check in the hospital.

People who have PKU must eat a protein-free diet, because mostly all proteins contain phenylalanine, babies are given a special formula. Older children/adults get, the more they have to avoid protein foods, Like: meat, eggs, cheese, and must avoid artificial sweeteners for their health. Sometime in the future their hoping there will be a pill instead, of a diet.
 * Treatment: **

The main treatment for PKU consists of permanently reducing the amount of protein in the diet. During your baby’s first year of life, blood tests to check the phenylalanine level, should be done weekly. PKU diet starts by the age of 3 weeks. It's very important to have a regular blood test to measure phenylalanine level. From ages 1 to 12 and throughout adulthood, testing once a month is suggested. We are not very close, yet for finding the cure for this disorder. They hope one day there will be a pill instead of the PKU diet. Hopefully, we should have a cure, in a couple years.
 * Research: **


 * Additional Facts: **

<span style="color: black; font-family: Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">About 1 out of every 15,000 babies in the US are born with PKU. Asbjarn Falling, discovered PKU in 1934.


 * <span style="color: black; font-family: Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Punnett Square: **


 * <span style="color: black; font-family: Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Pedigree Chart: **


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 * <span style="color: black; font-family: Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Resources: **

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">[|www.learn.genetics.utah.edu] <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">[|www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/tc/phenylketonuria-pku-treatment-overview] <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">[|www.pkunews,org/research/fall99] __<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">http://www.pkunews.org/research/prekunil_schuett.htm __