Phenylketonuria affects one in 10,000 to 15,000 newborns in the U.S. according to the Genetics Home Reference, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. The condition results from a mutated gene passed on from both of the child's...
Carboxylation and hydroxylation are technical terms for organic, biochemical reactions, or reactions that occur in life forms, from plants to people. While carboxylation and hydroxylation can occur apart from proteins, these reactions occur...
Many of the chemicals in the body are created through what is called a biological pathway. A pathway first requires a precursor molecule, usually from the diet. Then it is progressively modified by a series of enzymes until it reaches a final...
The adrenal glands produce three types of steroid hormones: corticosteroids ("stress hormones"), androgens and mineralocorticoids. Steroid production occurs in steps; for example, progesterone can be made into the corticosteroids cortisol or...
Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that help to relay impulses through your brain and nervous system. They are released into the microscopic gaps, called synapses, between adjacent neurons, thus propagating an impulse from one nerve to the...
It takes several steps to make dopamine and there are several enzymes involved. If you have problems creating any of the enzymes, there will be problems metabolizing dopamine. This may result in a dopamine deficiency. In Parkinson's disease, the...
Vitamin D deficiency is a common disorder in both children and adults. In children, it can cause bone abnormalities and interfere with their growth. In adults, it can lead to osteoporosis and muscle weakness. Several causes of this disorder may...
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the brain that plays a key role in controlling movement and in behaviors involving pleasure, pain and motivation, according to the University of Texas. Addictive behaviors and Parkinson's disease are closely...
Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid that is present in nearly all foods. Healthy individuals produce an enzyme called phenylalanine hydroxylase that breaks down phenylalanine so that it can be used by the body. Phenylketonuria is an inherited...
A panic attack is an intense sense of fear or foreboding that occurs suddenly and is accompanied by chest pain, shortness of breath, nausea, a racing heart, sweating or some other physical discomfort. Panic disorder is characterized by repeated...
Phenylketonuria, or PKU, is the most common amino acid disorder. It is characterized by a deficiency or complete absence of the phenylalanine hydroxylase enzyme, an enzyme involved in the conversion of the amino acid phenylalanine to the amino...
Your body uses 20 different amino acids to build new protein molecules. Your cells produce some of these amino acids, while others must be obtained through the foods you eat. Phenylalanine is an important amino acid, but some people lack the...
The adrenal gland is an endocrine organ that sits on top of the kidney and it produces hormones that have widespread effects on the regulation and response of the body. The adrenal gland is part of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, which is...
Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) manifests as extreme self-glorification, grandiose thinking, need for admiration and lack of empathy. It begins in early adulthood and persists throughout life, according to the American Psychiatric...
Most people think of cholesterol primarily in terms of its ability to cause atherosclerosis, which can result in heart disease and strokes. However, cholesterol has a number of different roles in the body. Not only is it an integral part of cell...
Dopamine is one of many chemicals called neurotransmitters that are used by the brain and nervous system to communicate. It is responsible for relaying messages related to wakefulness, concentration, appetite, motivation, memory and feelings of...
The neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin act as chemical messengers that relay nerve signals through the brain. Released from one nerve ending, these chemicals pass through a small space called a synapse and bind to specialized receptors on...
L-tyrosine is an amino acid that is responsible for the production of the neurotransmitters epinephrine, norepinephrine and dopamine. These neurotransmitters are essential for proper nerve function, reactions to stress, pain signals and regulating...
Two types of neurotransmitters, epinephrine and norepinephrine, are involved in neural communication. The University of Washington says epinephrine, also called adrenaline, and norepinephrine belong to a neurotransmitter group called...
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, or a chemical produced by your body's nerve cells. Neurotransmitters are responsible for sending the brain regulatory messages about bodily functions, such as sleep or hunger. Serotonin sends the brain regulatory...
High cholesterol is a well-known risk factor for heart disease. Total cholesterol is a measure of both low-density lipoproteins, or bad cholesterol, and high-density lipoproteins, or good cholesterol. Total cholesterol has two primary sources....
Scientists and nutritionists classify vitamin D as a fat-soluble vitamin, which means that it requires the presence of fat cells for absorption and that the body can store vitamin D in fat and liver cells. Although officially classified as a...
Phenylketonuria, or PKU, is a rare, inherited condition. Babies with PKU are born missing an enzyme called phenylalanine hydroxylase, which the body needs to break down an amino acid called phenylalanine. If left undiagnosed, the condition will...
Phenylketonuria, or PKU, is an inherited disorder in which an enzyme deficiency causes buildup of the protein building blocking phenylalanine in the bloodstream. In high concentrations, phenylalanine damages the brain. Because early diagnosis and...
All states in the U.S. offer newborn screening, which involves testing a small sample of a newborn's blood obtained for various genetic conditions. The number of conditions tested for varies from state to state, but new developments in testing...
Deprenyl is a medication that works by interfering with the monoamine oxidase B enzyme. This leads to an accumulation of dopamine, a neurotransmitter which is lacking in a person with Parkinson's disease. Phenylalanine, on the other hand, is an...
According to the Mayo Clinic "Most often, PKU is passed down the family tree by parents who are carriers of the disorder but don't know it." In a process of passing on genes to newborns called autosomal recessive pattern, the potential parents...
The Recommended Dietary Allowance -- RDA -- of vitamin D for healthy adults is a controversial subject among dietitians and physicians. Vitamin D synthesis in the human body, however, has been well studied. MayoClinic.com notes that spending as...
Tyrosine is a nutrient precursor for the synthesis of dopamine, an important neurotransmitter -- a chemical that relays signals between nerve cells in the brain. Dopamine reduction in the brain is associated with many neurological disorders,...
