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Disaccharidase-deficient enteropathies
Last reviewed: 23.11.2021
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Disaccharidase-deficient enteropathy is a lesion of the small intestine of an innate or acquired character, caused by a decrease in activity or complete absence of one or more disaccharidases.
Causes and pathogenesis of disaccharide-deficient enteropathies
In the intestinal mucosa, the following enzymes are produced: disaccharidases:
- isomaltase cleaves isomaltose;
- thermostable maltase II and III - splits maltose;
- invertase - cleaves sucrose;
- trehalase - cleaves trehalose;
- lactase - splits lactose.
These enzymes split disaccharides into monosaccharides (in particular, invertase splits sucrose into fructose and glucose, maltase - maltose into two glucose molecules, lactose - lactose to glucose and galactose).
Causes of disaccharide-deficient enteropathies
Clinical picture of disaccharide-deficient enteropathy
Disaccharidase-deficient enteropathy is divided into primary (hereditary) and secondary, arising from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract or taking certain medications (neomycin, progesterone, etc.).
Symptoms of disaccharide-deficient enteropathy
Diagnostic criteria for disaccharide-deficient enteropathy
- The history of intolerance to disaccharides (usually milk, sugar) and the decrease or disappearance of symptoms of enteropathy after the exclusion of these disaccharides and products containing them from the diet.
- Typical results of coprological analysis: acid reaction of stool, presence of gas bubbles (fermentation dyspepsia), undigested starch, cellulose, lactic acid.
Diagnosis of disaccharide-deficient enteropathy
Treatment of disaccharide-deficient enteropathy
The main method of treating disaccharidase-deficient enteropathies, both congenital and acquired, is a diet with the exception or sharp restriction of an intolerable disaccharide.
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