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Phenylketonuria
12 min read
Also known as: PKU · Fölling's disease · phenylpyruvic oligophrenia · congenital metabolic disorder · phenylalanine metabolism disorder · PKU disease · phenylketonuria syndrome · classic PKU · hyperphenylalaninemia · Fölling's oligophrenia
Your Body Is Speaking
Phenylketonuria — PKU for short — is a congenital particularity of metabolism. An enzyme that normally breaks down an amino acid called phenylalanine works not at all, or only in a limited way. Phenylalanine is found in almost every protein, in almost every food — in meat, in cheese, in bread, in nuts, in much of what other people eat as a matter of course. With PKU, this substance accumulates in the body and can, if no one intervenes, damage the growing brain.
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