Overview of carbohydrate metabolism disorders

[Lizzy Liz]

Carbohydrate metabolism disorders are hereditary metabolic disorders. Hereditary disorders occur when parents pass the defective genes that cause these disorders on to their children. There are different types of inherited disorders. In many hereditary metabolic disorders, both parents of the affected child carry a copy of the abnormal gene. Because usually two copies of the abnormal gene are necessary for the disorder to occur, usually neither parent has the disorder. Some hereditary metabolic disorders are X-linked, which means only one copy of the abnormal gene can cause the disorder in boys. (See also Overview of Hereditary Metabolic Disorders.)
Carbohydrates are sugars. Some sugars are simple, and others are more complex. Sucrose (table sugar) is made of two simpler sugars called glucose and fructose. Lactose (milk sugar) is made of glucose and galactose. Both sucrose and lactose must be broken down into their component sugars by enzymes before the body can absorb and use them. The carbohydrates in bread, pasta, rice, and other carbohydrate-containing foods are long chains of simple sugar molecules. These longer molecules must also be broken down by the body. If an enzyme that is needed to process a certain sugar is missing, that sugar can accumulate in the body, causing problems.
Disorders of carbohydrate metabolism include

Galactosemia
Glycogen storage diseases
Hereditary fructose intolerance
Pyruvate metabolism disorders