Problem
Will you please help me understand the questions with a short answer?
Case: Your Aunt Mildred, the world-class distance runner, routinely fueled her training runs with high-sugar energy bars, gels and drinks. While this calorie-dense, carbohydrate-rich fuels provided the necessary energy to complete her workouts, they also ravaged her oral cavity. Thus, Aunt Mildred is scheduled to have some work done by her dentist.
I. The dental assistant applies Lidocaine before the dentist begins working on her mouth. Local anesthetics such as Lidocaine inhibit neurons from being activated, thereby rendering the nervous system quiescent while surgery is performed. Lidocaine works by influencing the flow of ions through the plasma membrane ion channels, preventing action potentials from occurring. Which ions/ion channels are influenced? How would influencing the flow of these specific ions prevent an action potential from occurring and how does this prevent pain in Aunt Mildred?
II. The Lidocaine works and Aunt Mildred has no pain throughout the procedure. After visiting the dentist Aunt Mildred has a lunch date with her friend Marta. Mildred explains to Marta that eating feels funny because of the lingering effects of the anesthetic. Marta reveals that she just had some Botox injections (in preparation for a first date tonight) and also feels a bit funny after the procedure. The waiter overhears the conversation and just so happens to be a nursing student who LOVES talking about action potentials and synaptic transmission (please note these types of discussions at the restaurant usually don't help with tips). The waiter (correctly) explains that Botox works acts at the neuromuscular junction (i.e., the motor neuron synapse with skeletal muscle) but (incorrectly) states it works the same way that Lidocaine does (by preventing an action potential from being generated in the motor neuron). Describe where the waiter went wrong in their explanation of how these two procedures work.
III. The conversation between Marta, Mildred, and their waiter ultimately centers on electricity and how ions flowing across a membrane influence the charge (voltage) of the cell. The Sodium/Potassium ATPase pump not only impacts the driving force of sodium and potassium, but because the flow of these two ions ultimately impacts the membrane potential of a cell, the pump also impacts the flow of other ions. Describe how the normal action of the Sodium/Potassium ATPase pump impacts the overall membrane potential of the cell (does it make it more positive or negative?).
IV. Magnesium (Mg2+) is the second most abundant cation in mammalian cells, and it is essential for numerous cellular processes. Because the concentration of intracellular Mg2+ is greater than its extracellular concentration, Mg2+ will flow out of a cell normally at rest. Given your answer above in number 3, describe how a decrease in the number of Sodium/Potassium ATPase pumps would impact the amount of magnesium in the blood.
V. In reality there are some genetic disorders that result in a decrease in the number of Sodium/Potassium ATPase pumps. Given your answer to number 4 (i.e., would you have more or less magnesium in the blood), what might be a beneficial treatment and/or strategy to help with the condition you described?