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"We save over 1000 babies a year... " 3. Chamove: "We save over 1000 babies a year... from PKU in the USA, a life of mental retardation; was it worth it to experiment on 8 animals?" Wikkipedia: "Phenylketonuria [PKU] was discovered by the Norwegian physician Ivar Asbjørn Følling in 1934 when he noticed that 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 retarded siblings led him to request many physicians near Oslo to test the urine of other retarded patients. This led to the discovery of the same substance that he had found in eight other patients." MedLine Plus: "Treatment includes a diet that is extremely low in phenylalanine, Phenylalanine occurs in significant amounts in milk, eggs and other common foods. Nutrasweet (aspartame) also contains phenylalanine, and products containing aspartame should be avoided by children with this disorder. A special infant formula called Lofenalac is made for infants with PKU. It can be used throughout life as a protein source that is extremely low in phenylalanine and balanced for the remaining essential amino acids. Adult women who have PKU and who plan to become pregnant should also adhere to a strict low-phenylalanine diet both before becoming pregnant and throughout the pregnancy." The earliest paper associated with treating PKU with diet is: Influence of phenylalanine intake on phenylketonuria. BICKEL H, GERRARD J, HICKMANS EM. Lancet. 1953. A rush of papers about treating PKU with diets low in phenylalanine followed. This should be an area of Chamove's expertise. "Fetal PKU:" the effect of maternal hyperphenylalaninemia during pregnancy in the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta). Kerr GR, Chamove AS, Harlow HF, Waisman HA. Pediatrics. 1968. The development of infant monkeys fed low phenylalanine diets. Kerr GR, Chamove AS, Harlow HF, Waisman HA. Pediatr Res. 1969. Differential reinforcement of latency (DRL) in phenylketonuric monkeys. Chamove AS, Davenport JW. Dev Psychobiol. 1970. Abnormal social behavior in phenylketonuric monkeys. Chamove AS, Waisman HA, Harlow HF. J Abnorm Psychol. 1970. Avoidance learning in phenylketonuric monkeys. Chamove AS, Harlow HF. J Comp Physiol Psychol. 1973. Three social-preference measures in PKU monkeys. Chamove AS. J Ment Defic Res. 1979. Dietary and metabolic effects on rhesus social behavior: Chamove suggests in his comment: "We save over 1000 babies a year from PKU in the USA, a life of mental retardation; was it worth it to experiment on 8 animals?" that research on PKU in the Harlow lab was in some way associated with the discovery of a treatment for PKU. Given that the medical literature on this topic began being widely published in 1953, the claim that Harlow et al's work contributed to saving "1000 babies a year" seems an outlandish rewriting of history. Harlow's first three papers on PKU were: Phenylketonuria in infant monkeys. WAISMAN HA, WANG HL, PALMER G, HARLOW HF. EEG changes in experimental phenylketonuria. CADELL TE, HARLOW HF, WAISMAN EXPERIMENTAL PHENYLKETONURIA IN INFANT MONKEYS. WAISMAN HA, HARLOW HF. Once again, like the separation studies, Harlow's lab simply reproduced in monkeys what was already well established in humans. After the fact, apologists like Chamove claim that the experiments on monkeys resulted in the discovery. And, are we supposed to believe that over the 20 years of Harlow's and Chamove's PKU studies that only 8 animals were used? Want to buy a bridge in Manhattan?
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