U.S. newborn screening programs began in the early 1960s with phenylketonuria (PKU), a disorder of protein metabolism that causes mental retardation when untreated. Babies with PKU appear normal ...

Newborn screening is known to be the most successful means of secondary prevention. Horst Bickel, the man who discovered the phenylketonuria (PKU) diet, pointed out at a very early stage that his ...

Specifically, Dr. Willard Centerwall, whose child was mentally handicapped, developed the first diagnostic test for PKU in 1957. Called the "wet diaper" test, Centerwall's test involved adding a ...