Genetic study of lactose intolerance
What is lactose intolerance?
Lactose intolerance means that you cannot digest foods that contain lactose.
Lactose is a type of sugar found in milk and other dairy products. The body needs an enzyme called lactase to digest lactose. Lactase breaks lactose, a complex sugar, into its two components: glucose and galactose. These simple sugars are then absorbed through the intestinal wall and pass into the bloodstream. In the absence of lactase, lactose cannot be digested or absorbed.
Lactose intolerance occurs when the small intestine does not produce enough of this enzyme, so the body cannot digest the sugar (lactose) contained in milk.
People with lactase deficiency in the intestinal mucosa (hypolactasia) do not digest lactose properly, resulting in the characteristic symptoms of lactose intolerance.
Lactase levels are high in breastfed babies, which allows them to digest milk. However, in most adults, lactase levels decrease after the breastfeeding period. It is estimated that 70-75% of the world’s population is lactose intolerant without knowing it, according to the National Polytechnic Institute.
Process
Collection of 3 mL of EDTA blood.
Receipt and analysis of the sample in our laboratory.
Report dispatched within 10 working days.
If you need any clarification, your doctor will explain the results to you.
Signs and symptoms
Symptoms of lactose intolerance usually begin within 30 minutes to 2 hours after eating or drinking lactose-containing foods, the most common are:
- Diarrhoea
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Stomach cramps
- Abdominal bloating and cramps
- Gas
Indications
It is recommended for all people, especially those who have symptoms of intolerance or frequent digestive problems:
- Indicated in the evaluation of hypolactasia in adults with clinical symptoms of lactose intolerance.
- Clinical suspicion of lactose intolerance.
Risk factors
There are some risk factors that may make you or your child genetically more likely to be lactose intolerant, some of them are:
- Older age: Lactose intolerance usually occurs in adulthood. Rare in infants and young children.
- Ethnicity: more common in people of African, Asian, Hispanic or Native American origin.
- Premature birth: premature babies may have reduced lactase levels because the small intestine does not generate protective lactase cells until late in the third trimester.
- Diseases affecting the small intestine: such as bacterial overgrowth, celiac disease and Crohn’s disease.
- Certain cancer treatments: people who have received radiotherapy for stomach cancer or intestinal complications from chemotherapy are at increased risk.
Results
Our genetic study of lactose intolerance consists of the genetic analysis of the patient’s DNA to determine the presence of two polymorphisms in the MCM6 gene associated with the development of lactose intolerance in the adult phase.
The study is performed using the Real Time PCR technique.
As an alternative to the breath test/breath test, the analysis is performed on a blood sample, avoiding direct exposure of the patient to lactose-containing substances.
