Cognitive Functioning in Adults with Phenylketonuria in a Cohort of Spanish Patients

The early introduction of a low phenylalanine (Phe) diet has been demonstrated to be the most successful treatment in subjects with phenylketonuria (PKU), especially for preventing severe cognitive and neurological damages. However, it still concerns that even if treated in the first months of life...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behavioural neurology 2023, Vol.2023, p.9681740-9
Main Authors: Luna, P. M., López-Paz, J. F., García, M., Amayra, I., Martínez, O., Pérez, M., Rodríguez, A. A., Pérez-Núñez, P., Ceberio, I., Mansilla, N., Soria, C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adults
Age
Amino acids
Brain research
Cognition
Diet
Dietary restrictions
Disease
Dopamine
Executive Function
Gender
Humans
Medical screening
Memory
Mental health
Metabolic disorders
Phenylalanine
Phenylketonuria
Phenylketonurias - metabolism
Phenylketonurias - psychology
Proteins
Quality of Life
Self image
Sociodemographics
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Summary:The early introduction of a low phenylalanine (Phe) diet has been demonstrated to be the most successful treatment in subjects with phenylketonuria (PKU), especially for preventing severe cognitive and neurological damages. However, it still concerns that even if treated in the first months of life with supplements and following a diet, they can show slight scores below people without PKU in neuropsychological assignments. We investigated 20 adults with classical PKU aged 19–48 years (mean age 29 years) and 20 heathy controls matched by age, gender, and years of education. Patients and controls were assessed with an extended neuropsychological battery, as well as psychological aspects and quality of life, also the last Phe level result was obtained. Results showed that the most affected cognitive domains are processing speed, executive functioning, memory, and also theory of mind, but very well-preserved verbal fluency, language, and visuospatial functioning. In quality of life, some significant results were seen specially in anxiety of Phe levels, anxiety of Phe levels during pregnancy, guilt if poor adherence to supplements, and if dietary protein restriction not followed. No significant results were obtained for the psychological variables. In conclusion, it has been shown that a combination of a low Phe diet, supplement intake, and keeping Phe levels in a low range seems appropriate to have the most normal and alike cognitive performance to persons without PKU.
ISSN:0953-4180
1875-8584
DOI:10.1155/2023/9681740