High Protein Diets and Inborn Metabolic Errors Analytical Essay by professor71
Looks at the dangers of high protein diets for persons especially infants with inborn errors of amino acid metabolism.
# 150352
| 1,945 words
| 8 sources
| APA
| 2012
| 
Published
by professor71
on Feb 02, 2012
in
Chemistry
(Biochemistry)
, Medical and Health
(Medical Studies)
, Nutrition
(Food)
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Description:
This paper explains that the normal turnover of amino acids (AA), the fundamental building blocks of proteins, occurs through a series of enzymatically controlled steps; however, a defective enzyme cannot catabolize a particular AA, which can lead to abnormal accumulations of secondary metabolites and to depletion of downstream intermediaries. Next, the author discuses phenylketonuria, maple syrup disease and homocystinuria, which are inborn errors of metabolism disorders. The paper relates that, because a high protein diet can be dangerous and considered to be a metabolic poison for infants, the best therapy is a semisynthetic diet that restricts the involved amino acid.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Normal Amino Acid Chemistry and Physiology
Enzymes and Enzyme Defects in Inborn Errors Of Metabolism
Alterations in AA Metabolism
Maple Syrup Disease
Metabolic Effects of High-Protein Diet
Diet in Inborn Errors of Amino Acid Metabolism
Conclusion
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Normal Amino Acid Chemistry and Physiology
Enzymes and Enzyme Defects in Inborn Errors Of Metabolism
Alterations in AA Metabolism
Maple Syrup Disease
Metabolic Effects of High-Protein Diet
Diet in Inborn Errors of Amino Acid Metabolism
Conclusion
From the Paper:
"Genes exert their effects on organisms indirectly. For most genes, the genetic information contained in the nucleotide sequence specifies a particular type of protein. Proteins control the chemical and physical processes of cells known as metabolism. Many proteins are enzymes, which are biological catalysts that accelerate biochemical reactions. Enzymes are essential for the breakdown of organic molecules, generating the chemical energy needed for cellular activities; they are also essential for the synthesis of small molecules and for their assembly into larger molecules and complex cellular structures."Any hereditary disease in which the cellular metabolism is abnormal results from an inherited defect in an enzyme. Such diseases are known as inborn errors of metabolism. Any sequence of biochemical reactions is called a biochemical pathway or a metabolic pathway. Each step requires a specific enzyme to catalyze the reaction and allow the chemical transformation to take place. Persons with an inborn error of metabolism have a defect in one step of a metabolic pathway because they lack a functional enzyme for that step. The pathway is thus, said to have a block at that step. One frequent result of a blocked pathway is that the substrate of the defective enzyme accumulates to toxic levels and/or depletion of downstream intermediates, leading to clinical pathology."
Sample of Sources Used:
- Chopra, P.J, et al., 1976. Special Diets for Infants with Inborn Errors of Amino Acid Metabolism. Pediatrics; 57; 783.
- Denke, M.A., 2001. Metabolic Effects of High-Protein, Low-Carbohydrate Diets. The American Journal of Cardiology. 88.
- Hartl, D.L., 2009. Essential Genetics: A Genomics Perspective. Jones & Bartlett Learning
- McClatchey, K.D., 2002. Clinical laboratory medicine. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
- Meyers, R.A., 1995. Molecular biology and biotechnology. Wiley-VCH.
Cite this Analytical Essay:
APA Format
High Protein Diets and Inborn Metabolic Errors (2012, February 02)
Retrieved December 09, 2023, from https://www.academon.com/analytical-essay/high-protein-diets-and-inborn-metabolic-errors-150352/
MLA Format
"High Protein Diets and Inborn Metabolic Errors" 02 February 2012.
Web. 09 December. 2023. <https://www.academon.com/analytical-essay/high-protein-diets-and-inborn-metabolic-errors-150352/>