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Biomedical subjects

P Acosta

Publications and source records attributed to P Acosta.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Blood phenylalanine levels and intelligence of 10-year-old children with PKU in the National Collaborative Study.

Dietary intakes and blood phenylalanine levels of 125 10-year-old children with PKU are reported. Of those patients, 59 discontinued the special diet at 6 years, 16 discontinued at 8 years, 5 discontinued at 6 years but returned to the diet at 8 1/2 years, and 45 continued the diet to 10 years. Phenylalanine intake was determined by 2-day diet records. Blood phenylalanine concentrations revealed a lack of clear distinction between the diet groups; therefore, regression analysis was performed on the group as a whole. The analyses revealed significant relationships between blood phenylalanine levels from ages 6 to 10 years and each of the cognitive outcome variables, after the influences of parental IQ and the age at which treatment was initiated were controlled for. Intelligence test scores were also related to phenylalanine levels between ages 3 1/2 and 5 1/2 years. The findings suggest that dietary restriction of phenylalanine should continue in patients with PKU through at least 10 years of age.

Child↗

A computerized procedure for estimating nutrient intake.

A procedure was devised for computing intake in terms of calories, total protein, phenylalanine, carbohydrate, and fat. The procedure used a magnetic tape containing 3,122 numbered food items. The nutrient composition of each food was reported for 100 g of the edible portion of the food. In addition, diet diaries were prepared in which the foods eaten during the preceding 24-hr period, the code for each food corresponding to the number for the same item on the magnetic tape, and the number of units of each food eaten were recorded. A computer program then was written that calculated the amounts of intake per day for each nutrient. Application of the procedure for 42 consecutive days on the daily diet records of 43 adult carriers of the phenylalanine hydroxylase enzyme formed the data base used to determine if aspartame significantly increased levels of phenylalanine in the blood. Adaptations of the procedure permit calculations of intake for periods from 1 to 30 days and analyses of additional nutrients including calcium, phosphorous, iron, vitamin A, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, and ascorbic acid.

Computers↗