Controlled diet in phenylketonuria and hyperphenylalaninemia may cause serum selenium deficiency in adult patients: the Czech experience
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2013 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Biological Trace Element Research |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | http://www.springer.com |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12011-013-9724-6 |
| Field | Paediatry |
| Keywords | hyperphenylalaninemia; phenylketonuria; pre-albumin; selenium; zinc; iron |
| Attached files | |
| Description | Phenylketonuria is an inherited disorder of metabolism of the amino acid phenylalanine caused by a deficit of the enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase. It is treated with a low-protein diet containing a low content of phenylalanine to prevent mental affection of the patient. Because of the restricted intake of high-biologic-value protein, patients with phenylketonuria may have lower than normal serum concentrations of pre-albumin, selenium, zinc and iron. The objective of the present study was to assess the compliance of our phenylketonuric (PKU) and hyperphenylalaninemic (HPA) patients; to determine the concentration of serum pre-albumin, selenium, zinc and iron to discover the potential correlation between the amount of proteins in food and their metabolic control. We studied 174 patients of which 113 were children (age 1-18), 60 with PKU and 53 with HPA and 61 were adults (age 18-42), 51 with PKU and 10 with HPA. We did not prove a statistically significant difference in the concentration of serum pre-albumin, zinc and iron among the respective groups. We proved statistically significant difference in serum selenium concentrations of adult PKU and HPA patients (p=0.006; Mann-Whitney U test). These results suggest that controlled low-protein diet in phenylketonuria and hyperphenylalaninemia may cause serum selenium deficiency in adult patients. |