Management of phenylketonuria: South Australian experience of 13 cases.

The management and present status of 13 children with phenylketonuria detected on the fifth day of life, who have been treated by diet thereafter for five to eight years, are discussed. In all 10 cases in which there has been continuous adequate dietary control of blood phenylalanine levels, the physical, social and mental development of the children has been normal. In some of these cases there is an unexplained discrepancy between the verbal and performance IQ scores. The present policy is to continue restricting the diet indefinitely, relaxation being permitted conditionally only after the age of seven years.