PKU

Phenylketonuria also known as PKU is a birth defect that causes amino acid called phenylalanine to build up in the body.
Main Info- It's very rare to get PKU. It has no cure but treatments can help. It's chronic so it can either last a lifetime or just a couple years. Untreated PKU can lead to brain damage, intellectual disabilities, behavioral symptoms. A self-care treatments you could do if you have it is a low-protein diet. People who maintain PKU can experience normal development and normal health. PKU is also a recessive trait.

Reflection- I didn't know a whole lot about PKU. Doing the research on this disease made me learn more things about it. I didn't know that people who maintained a good treatment would live a somewhat normal lifestyle. Also to get PKU both parents have to be carriers of it. The other children could possibly become carriers. To even become a carrier is very slim but to marry someone who is also a carrier is even more slim. I learned a lot by about this disease.

Citations

"Phenylketonuria (PKU) - Mayo Clinic". Mayo Clinic. N.p., 2017. Web. 4 Jan. 2017.

"PKU Primer For Adolescents And Adults « New England Consortium Of Metabolic Programs". Newenglandconsortium.org. N.p., 2017. Web. 4 Jan. 2017.