From mitochondria to healthy aging: The role of branched-chain amino acids treatment: MATeR a randomized study

Malnutrition often affects elderly patients and significantly contributes to the reduction in healthy life expectancy, causing high morbidity and mortality. In particular, protein malnutrition is one of the determinants of frailty and sarcopenia in elderly people. To investigate the role of amino ac...

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Published in:Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland) Scotland), 2020-07, Vol.39 (7), p.2080-2091
Main Authors: Buondonno, Ilaria, Sassi, Francesca, Carignano, Giulia, Dutto, Francesca, Ferreri, Cinzia, Pili, Fausto G., Massaia, Massimiliano, Nisoli, Enzo, Ruocco, Chiara, Porrino, Paola, Ravetta, Claudia, Riganti, Chiara, Isaia, Giovanni C., D'Amelio, Patrizia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Branched-chain amino acids
Elderly patients
Malnutrition
Mitochondrial activity and biogenesis
Muscle mass and strength
Oxidative stress
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Summary:Malnutrition often affects elderly patients and significantly contributes to the reduction in healthy life expectancy, causing high morbidity and mortality. In particular, protein malnutrition is one of the determinants of frailty and sarcopenia in elderly people. To investigate the role of amino acid supplementation in senior patients we performed an open-label randomized trial and administered a particular branched-chain amino acid enriched mixture (BCAAem) or provided diet advice in 155 elderly malnourished patients. They were followed for 2 months, assessing cognitive performance by Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), muscle mass measured by anthropometry, strength measure by hand grip and performance measured by the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, the 30 s Chair Sit to Stand (30-s CST) test and the 4 m gait speed test. Moreover we measured oxidative stress in plasma and mitochondrial production of ATP and electron flux in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Both groups improved in nutritional status, general health and muscle mass, strength and performance; treatment with BCAAem supplementation was more effective than simple diet advice in increasing MMSE (1.2 increase versus 0.2, p = 0.0171), ATP production (0.43 increase versus −0.1, p = 0.0001), electron flux (0.50 increase versus 0.01, p 
ISSN:0261-5614
1532-1983
DOI:10.1016/j.clnu.2019.10.013