What are fatty acid oxidation disorders?
A person who has a fatty acid oxidation disorder has trouble making energy from stored fat. The body breaks down food to make energy. Some of the energy is needed right away and some of it is saved as fat for later use. If a person goes for more than a few hours without eating, the body starts to use the stored fat to make energy. Enzymes (chemicals that do jobs in the body place) usually help to access the energy from fat. A person who has an FAO disorder is missing one or more of several enzymes, or the enzyme is not working as well as it should. Children with an FAO disorder cannot use the stored fat for energy. Each missing enzyme causes a different FAO disorder. Eating often and getting care right away for any illness can prevent most problems that FAO disorders cause. What causes FAO disorders? FAO disorders are inherited when both parents pass an abnormal FAO gene to their child. This means both parents are carriers of a particular FAO disorder. Carriers do not experience any he
