History
Phenylketonuria was discovered by the Norwegian physician Ivar Asbjørn Følling in 1934 when he noticed hyperphenylalaninemia (HPA) was associated with mental retardation. In Norway, this disorder is known as Følling's disease, named after its discoverer. Dr. Følling was one of the first physicians to apply detailed chemical analysis to the study of disease. His careful analysis of the urine of two affected siblings led him to request many physicians near Oslo to test the urine of other affected patients. This led to the discovery of the same substance he had found in eight other patients. He conducted tests and found reactions that gave rise to benzaldehyde and benzoic acid, which led him to conclude that the compound contained a benzene ring. Further testing showed the melting point to be the same as phenylpyruvic acid, which indicated that the substance was in the urine. His careful science inspired many to pursue similar meticulous and painstaking research with other disorders. It was recently suggested that PKU may resemble amyloid diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, due to the formation of toxic amyloid-like assemblies phenylalanine.
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