SCREENING FOR GALACTOSEMIA AMONG MENTALLY RETARDED PATIENTS.

The article presents a study on screening for galactosemia among mentally retarded patients in a hospital. Galactosemia is an inborn error of metabolism characterized by marked deficiency of the enzyme P-gal-uridyl transferase. Screening for galactosemia in mental hospitals, when carried out at all, generally consists of testing the urine for reducing substances. One purpose of this study was to determine whether such patients exist in a large mental hospital. In the screening test no hornozygotes for galactosemia were found. Four patients were found to have P-gal-uridyl transferase activity in the same range as found in heterozygotes for galactosemia.