NEW LOWER PRICES - ACT FAST
Medicine (MD/DO)
/
Courses
/
Biochemistry
/
Amino Acid Metabolism Disorders
/
Maternal Phenylketonuria

Master Maternal Phenylketonuria with Picmonic for Medicine

With Picmonic, facts become pictures. We've taken what the science shows - image mnemonics work - but we've boosted the effectiveness by building and associating memorable characters, interesting audio stories, and built-in quizzing.

DOWNLOAD PDF
Maternal Phenylketonuria

Maternal Phenylketonuria

Pregnant-mother Phoenix-ketone-key
Picmonic
Phenylketonuria is an autosomal recessive metabolic disorder caused by a mutation in the enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase. This reaction requires tetrahydrobiopterin as a cofactor, and decreased tetrahydrobiopterin can also cause decreased activity of phenylalanine hydroxylase. For women with phenylketonuria, it is important for the health of their children to have low phenylalanine levels before and during pregnancy, because high levels of phenylalanine can cross the placenta and affect the developing fetus. Lack of proper diet during therapy, like eating high amounts of phenylalanine containing NutraSweet, can cause congenital heart disease, growth retardation, intellectual disability and microcephaly.
5 KEY FACTS
PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
Lack of Proper Diet During Pregnancy; Like NutraSweet
Mom eating Nutrasweet packet

NutraSweet is an additive high in phenylalanine, and a lack of a proper diet during pregnancy can cause symptoms in the developing fetus. For women with phenylketonuria, it is important for the health of their children to have low phenylalanine levels before and during pregnancy, because high levels of phenylalanine can cross the placenta and affect the developing fetus.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
Congenital Heart Defects
Heart

Excess phenylalanine can disrupt cardiac development and cause congenital heart defects in the newborn.

Growth Retardation
C-clamp

Infants with maternal phenylketonuria fail to grow at an appropriate rate, and also fail to attain early developmental milestones.

Intellectual Disability (Mental Retardation)
Book Covered in Tar

Infants with maternal phenylketonuria can display severely impaired cognitive functioning with deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors.

Microcephaly
Small-head

A neurodevelopmental disorder in which the head circumference is more than two standard deviations smaller than the average circumference for the person's age and gender. It is a common clinical feature of infants with maternal phenylketonuria.

DOWNLOAD PDF

Recommended Picmonics

picmonic thumbnail
Alkaptonuria
picmonic thumbnail
Hartnup Disease
picmonic thumbnail
Phenylketonuria (PKU)
picmonic thumbnail
Maple Syrup Urine Disease
picmonic thumbnail
Cystinuria

Take the Maternal Phenylketonuria Quiz

Picmonic's rapid review multiple-choice quiz allows you to assess your knowledge.

It's worth every penny

Our Story Mnemonics Increase Mastery and Retention

Memorize facts with phonetic mnemonics

Unforgettable characters with concise but impactful videos (2-4 min each)

Memorize facts with phonetic mnemonics

Ace Your Medicine (MD/DO) Classes & Exams with Picmonic:

Over 1,990,000 students use Picmonic’s picture mnemonics to improve knowledge, retention, and exam performance.

Choose the #1 Medicine (MD/DO) student study app.

Picmonic for Medicine (MD/DO) covers information that is relevant to your entire Medicine (MD/DO) education. Whether you’re studying for your classes or getting ready to conquer the USMLE Step 1, USMLE Step 2 CK, COMLEX Level 1, or COMLEX Level 2, we’re here to help.

Works better than traditional Medicine (MD/DO) flashcards.

Research shows that students who use Picmonic see a 331% improvement in memory retention and a 50% improvement in test scores.