Journal of Genetic Syndromes & Gene Therapy
Open Access

Abstract

Normal Child by a Gestational Carrier of a Phenylketonuria (PKU) Mother-An Alternative to Diet

PiNian Chang and Robert O Fisch

PKU mothers have a high incidence of spontaneous abortion. The consequences of untreated pregnancies are severely detrimental to their offspring. It manifested by intrauterine growth retardation with microcephaly, congenital malformations and abnormal intellectual development. Infants’ pathology is independent of fetal genotype, but is directly correlated with excessive phenylalaninaemia of the mother throughout pregnancy. PKU mothers can produce healthy infant if they maintain a very restricted and controlled diet prior conception and during pregnancy. However to maintain a well-controlled diet prior to conception and during pregnancy is not possible in most cases, and significant mental and/or physical disability can result in children born due to either the delay or the not well controlled dietary treatment. We, previously, described the first child born using, non-PKU, gestational carrier with a PKU mother’s egg and the husband’s sperm. In this report, we present the normal developmental outcome of this infant at 4years 7 month of age. We suggest that doctors who take care of PKU females could suggest gestational carriers as an alternative therapy for MPKU.