You have a friend who is preparing for a charity marathon, but he feels that he

Question

You have a friend who is preparing for a charity marathon, but he feels that he is too out of shape to compete with seasoned runners. You go with him to shop for energy drinks that would give him a competitive edge. He finally finds a drink called “Endurance” before the race. Your friend drinks several bottles of “Endurance” before the race. Your friend collapses after two hours of running, only 10 miles into the 26 mile race. The medical team on the scene discovers that your friend is dizzy, vomiting, and breathing rapidly. In addition, his muscles are quickly alternating between very tense and overly relaxed. An on-the-spot examination shows that his heartbeat is rapid, yet his blood pressure is low. It is the job of the medical team to determine the chemical factors causing your friend’s illness. Then, they must determine how to remedy the problem to prevent your friend from becoming more ill or even dying. Determine possible body chemistry causing this set of conditions.

Explanation / Answer

The above symptoms along with the given conditions are very typical of caffeine overdose. Most energy drinks contain a large amount of caffeine, and ingesting a large amount in a short time can cause the above symptoms. Caffeine causes three major effects in the body, which are adenosine receptor antagonism, increased intracellular calcium levels and phosphodiesterase inhibition. Phopsphodiesterase inhibition is not linked to caffeine overdose, so we will ignore it. Adenosine receptors are responsible for a number of musclur functions, including those in the stomach lining and the heart. As caffeine causes adenosine receptor antagonism, the receptors get stuck in an on state, leading to tachycardia and high rate (causing rapid breathing), and gastric acid release. causing vomiting. Calcium is an important ion for neurons as it determines the voltage of the cell, and an increase level can cause signal inhibition or irregular signalling, causing seizures and improper muscle control.

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