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Subclinical executive function impairment in children with asymptomatic, treated phenylketonuria: A comparison with

Patrizia Bisiacchi1, Giovanni Mento1, Vincenza Tarantino2

  • 1a Department of General Psychology , University of Padua , Padua , Italy.

Cognitive Neuropsychology
|November 10, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Children with phenylketonuria (PKU) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) show executive function (EF) impairments compared to controls. HIV impacts EF more than PKU, suggesting specific deficits in PKU.

Area of Science:

  • Neuropsychology
  • Developmental Pediatrics
  • Infectious Diseases

Background:

  • Phenylketonuria (PKU) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are known to affect cognitive functions.
  • Executive functions (EFs) are particularly vulnerable to neurological insults.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the neuropsychological profiles of children with PKU and HIV.
  • To investigate the specificity of executive function (EF) impairments in PKU and HIV.

Main Methods:

  • A neuropsychological assessment was conducted on 55 participants.
  • Participants included 11 children with PKU, 16 with HIV, and 28 healthy controls, all age-matched.

Main Results:

  • Both PKU and HIV groups exhibited lower EF scores than controls, despite remaining within normative ranges.
  • The HIV group performed significantly worse than the PKU group on Trail-Making Test A, Corsi Span, and Verbal Fluency.

Conclusions:

  • EF impairments in PKU appear specific to working memory and attentional shifting, not generalized processing speed deficits.
  • HIV is associated with broader EF deficits compared to PKU.

Keywords:
HIVexecutive functionsphenylketonuriaprefrontal lobe

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