Battistini, S. Unexpected white matter changes in an early treated PKU case and improvement after diet treatment, Func. Waisbren, SE and Zaff, J., Personality disorder in young women with treated phenylketonuria, J.Inher. Depression is not described per se, but a variety of thought disorders and mood disturbances were associated with being off the diet. Pietz, et al, Psychiatric disorders in adult patients with early-treated phenylketonuria, Ped. It is known that high phe levels decrease production of a key neurotransmitter important for mood maintenance, serotonin.
Many antidepressant drugs act by elevating serotonin.
It is thus natural to suspect that depression could be a consequence of high phe levels. This is the case of a girl with late-treated PKU and mild mental retardation who developed severe behavior disorders and anorexia in her teens. Her anorexic symptoms did not respond to the usual management strategies, but did respond to a reduction of serum phe after the introduction of a low protein diet. So in your sister s case, anorexia may be another sign of disturbed mental processes caused by high blood phe levels. Treating Older Adults Q. I am looking for information on older adults, between 50-60 years of age.