Assignment task:
Candice Brown is a 21-year-old nursing student who lives at residence in Georgian College.During the past 6 months, she has experienced several bouts of abdominal bloating and cramps,followed by diarrhea. At first, she thought these episodes were caused by the stress of thedemanding nursing program. However, Candice noticed that the symptoms occurred approximately 1 hour after she drank milk or ate ice cream. On a visit home, Candice mentionedthe symptoms to her mother, who exclaimed, "Don't you know that your father and I have never been able to drink milk?".Candice was examined by her nurse practitioner, who found her to be otherwise good health. Because Candice's symptoms were temporarily related to ingestion of dairy products, the nurse practitioner ordered a lactose-hydrogen breath test, which confirmed that Candice has lactoseintolerance. Her fecal osmolar gap was measured and was elevated. As further confirmation of the diagnosis, Candice abstained from dairy products for 1 week and had no episodes of bloating, cramping, or diarrhea.
Question 1: How are dietary carbohydrates chemically digested in the GI tract? What are the roles of salivary, pancreatic, and intestinal mucosal brush border enzymes in carbohydrate digestion. What are the final products of carbohydrate digestion?
Question 2: How are the final products of carbohydrate digestion absorbed from the lumen of the GI tractinto blood. You can draw diagrams if it helps in answering this question.
Question 3: Describe the steps involved in the digestion and absorption of lactose.
Question 4: Propose a mechanism for Candice's lactose intolerance.
Question 5: Why did her lactose intolerance cause diarrhea?