Women with PKU Who Eat a Normal Diet During Pregnancy

Question

Women with PKU who eat a normal diet during pregnancy will have children with ____.
A) only a 25% chance of developing PKU
B) intellectual disability only if the child's phenotype is homozygous recessive
C) intellectual disability only if the child's phenotype is heterozygous
D) intellectual disability regardless of the child's genotype
E) no greater chance of having PKU than if she ate a special PKU diet

Accepted Answer

Women with PKU (phenylketonuria) who consume a normal diet high in phenylalanine during pregnancy can cause their children to have intellectual disabilities due to the high levels of phenylalanine crossing the placenta and affecting the developing fetus, regardless of the child's genotype. This condition is known as maternal PKU syndrome.