Children of mothers with phenylketonuria

300

Selected

abstracts

Kang

and Paine: Elevation of Plasma Phenylalanine Levels During Pregnancies of Women Heterozygous for Phenylketonuria, p. 283. Plasma phenylalaninc 1~~~~1s were studied during the pregnancies of nine hcterozygous mothers of previously known phcnylketonuric infants. Thew mothers showed higher mean levels of phcnylalanine throughout prcsgttancy than did nornlal pregnant controls or nonprcgnant hcttwzygottx Levels of phcnylalanine in cord blood wvrc consistently higher than in maccrtlal plasma drarvn simultaneously at delivery. This elc\-atiott paralleled thrx elevation itt the rnatcrnal plasma. ‘l%~, investigators wcrr unable to prcdic.1 rhc prcscnt~~’ of phenylkrtonuria in a tlewborn infant from graphs of maternal phcnylalaninc I~~~~~ls duritle pregnan0, or from the cord blood. Howver, dctermitiations of phcnplalaninc ctrntcnt of rh
Engel

and Butler: Appraisal of Conceptual Age of Newborn Infants by Electroencephalographic methods, p. 386. The elcctroencephalographic response to photic stimulations \vas determined on 366 nrwborn infants ranging in gestational age from 29 to +6 wxeks. The latency of photically cvokcd rcsponses wxs measured. The lattzncv intrxrval \rarird from 230 mscc-. at 29 weeks gestation to 153 mwc. at 40 weeks and 100 tnxc’c. at 1-6 v.eeks. There were considerable individual x.nrialions pwwnt, but the over-all pictut-c showd a progressive shortening of the 1atc.llc.y period r(‘gardless of whether the baby maturfx in utrro or in the nursery. The basis for the latter statenltznt is successive studies donr. in the pwrnat~lrc nursery. The authors pwsent this ai a possible objective criterion for determining dc,qrw of maturity-.

Schuylr~r C. h'ohl Children of Mothers with Phenylketonuria, p. 46 1. Information on this subject is mraaer. In addition to the present report thew was a rcccnt rcport from England indicating that a TVO~ILII~ \vith phenylkctonuria had t%vo apparently normal children while another prcviou report from England states that a woman with phenylkctonuria had three retarded children. The present

report cottccrtls a i&year-old, mentally retarded institutionalized cvoman ~.ho was discovered, 011 routine analysis. to ha\,c phcnylkv~onuria. ‘I’hi\ patiwt had 7 children and information is svailable on 5. Each of these five children is mentally rctardr~d. ‘Thrw of them have been tvswd fat phcnyIkc.tclnllri;r and arc* ncgativcx.

Wefring: ‘I% ti\it);

Hemorrhage in the Newborn min K Prophylaxis, 1~. 663. authors point out is so IOM. at birth

that that

and

Vita-

the coagulation acit must be awumcd

that thcrr: is a threat of hemorrhage. In the first 2 or 3 days of life this risk is present in ahout one half c~x~clude trratmcnt infant.

of all infants. Therefore, that there is need for with lritarnin K of both

the authors prophylactic. mother and

Wilson,

Parmelee, and Huggins: Prenatal History of Premature Infants with Birthweights of 1500 Grams or Less, p. 63. ‘The prenatal histories of 79 newborn infants weighing 501-l 500 grams, 2 16 infants Tvcighing 1,501 to 2,500 grams and 134 infants weighing mow than 2,500 grams were compared utilizing multiple regression and single variable analysi< computer programs. The infants \vere dclivercd at the University of California Hospital in Los :~rt,~vlcs. Thv lnwesr weight group had an incrcascd rcprrwntation of whitr patiwts nlld was not cwrclated with acl\wse soc~iocconnrnic. fartars. Also. the lowc,st Meight grolip was not c.orr~~latcd with medical illncsscs of the mother ~‘sc.c~l)~ for townlia and urinary tract infections. ‘l’hr lo~~~~t weight group did correlate with those pwtnaturc iiifantq assoriatc,d lvith placental al)nornlalitiw. older a,gta of the mother, and prwious hiTtorics I)f infertility. Consideration must be ,qivcan 10 the rrprcselltation in the snmplc of uot.iot,cotlclllli(. and racial ,groups. This rantlot bv tlcrcrtrlin~d from the material presented.

Schuylcr

Denniston:

The

G. Kohl

Lancet

Ivol. I. :!pril 11, 1964. “Hrody,

S.: Observations naiivy. p, 796.

I’ol. 7, A’o. 7334. March Spmrc,

on toxaetnias

of preg-

21. 1964.

D. N., and Chalmers, twin in the Induction

J. .4.: Buccal Osyof Labour, p. 633.