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Enzyme disables excess amino acid
A study in mice suggests that phenylketonuria, a genetic disease that can cause brain damage if patients don't adhere to a rigorous diet, might be treated with an enzyme.
References:
Sarkissian, C.N. . . . R. Heft . . . and C.R. Scriver. 1999. A different approach to treatment of phenylketonuria: Phenylalanine degradation with recombinant phenylalanine ammonia lyase. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 96(March 2):2339.
Further Readings:
Ambrus, C.M., et al. 1987. Annals of Internal Medicine 106:531.
Bourget, L., and T.M.S. Chang. 1986. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 883:432.
Hoskins, J.A., S.B. Holliday, and A.M. Greenway. 1984. Biomedical Mass Spectrometry 11:296.
Levy, H.L. 1999. Phenylketonuria: Old disease, new approach to treatment. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 96(March 2):1811.
Sources:
Robert Heft
IBEX Technologies, Inc.
5485 rue Paré
Montreal, QC H4P 1P7
Canada
Harvey L. Levy
Children's Hospital
Department of Medicine
Division of Genetics
300 Longwood Avenue
IC-106
Boston, MA 02115
Charles R. Scriver
Montreal Children's Hospital Research Institute
McGill University
Debelle Laboratory
2300 Tupper Street A-717
Montreal, QC H3H 1P3
Canada
From Science News, Vol. 155, No. 11, March 13, 1999, p. 164. Copyright © 1999, Science Service.
