title: PAH deficiency in Italy: correlation of genotype with phenotype in the Sicilian population.
abstract: The results of the neonatal screening for phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) deficiency in Sicily show that its incidence is higher than previously reported for mainland Italians and that non-PKU HPA is in excess of classical and mild PKU. The latter finding suggests that a high number of non-PKU HPA mutations would occur in the Sicilian population compared to populations with an inverted PKU/non-PKU HPA ratio. Previous studies have identified 40 mutations accounting for the majority (98%) of mutant alleles underlying PAH deficiency in Sicily. In order to study the molecular basis of the distribution of PAH deficiency phenotypes in the Sicilian population, we have correlated 31 of those mutations with clinical and metabolic phenotypes in 12 mentally retarded patients, 14 treated patients with classic or mild PKU, and 13 subjects presenting the non-PKU HPA phenotype. The present study proposes a tentative classification for a large number (26) of PAH gene mutations which may represent an additional tool for establishing a differential diagnosis for PAH deficiency in the Sicilian population.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio di Genetica Molecolare, Istituto per la Ricerca sul Ritardo Mentale e l'Involuzione Cerebrale (I.R.C.C.S.), Troina, Italy.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Romano
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Guldberg
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Güttler
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Meli
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mollica
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pavone
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Giovannini
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Riva
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Biasucci
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Luotti
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Palillo
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Calí
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ceratto
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Anello
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bosco
mesh_terms: D000592:Amino Acid Metabolism, Inborn Errors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D015997:Neonatal Screening; D010641:Phenotype; D010649:Phenylalanine / Q000378:metabolism*; D010651:Phenylalanine Hydroxylase / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000235:genetics; D011594:Psychometrics; D012802:Sicily
chemical_list: D010649:Phenylalanine; D010651:Phenylalanine Hydroxylase