I was reading about metabolic disorders caused by the lack of production of a protein. Can a possible treatment be to supplement the patient with that lacking protein, or would the body degrade it before it acts upon it?
For congenital metabolic disorders, such as metabolic disorders caused by enzyme deficiency, theoretically can be corrected by supplementing with the corresponding enzyme. However, the supplementation of enzymes involves many issues, such as how the enzymes reach the site of action, how to avoid being degraded, and how to eliminate rejection reactions.
One example in the positive: Fingernail splintering is not uncommon and is effectively treated by adding gelatin powder to your morning orange juice. I think this may be more important than one realizes since gelatin is the precursor of collagen and collagen is 30% of all the formed protein in the body. Splintering finger nails may be the tip of the iceberg.
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