35 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
Soy protein is a high quality, plant-based protein that is comparable to milk, meat and eggs. Soy protein has a digestion rate (intermediate) compared to whey (fast) and casein (slow). This intermediate rate may allow soy protein to have an extended window of muscle protein synthesis that has not been monitored in previous studies. While most of the sports nutrition "recovery" products are dairy-based protein blends (high in branched-chain amino acids), soy protein offers additional benefits that can make an important contribution to these types of sports nutrition products. Soy protein contains approximately 300% more arginine and 30% more glutamine compared to whey protein and these two amino acids may bring additional benefits (immunity and hydration, respectively) to athletes. A "blend" of high-quality proteins (soy and dairy) may be the optimal sports nutrition product for athletes to consume following training.
During aging there is a tendency for muscle protein synthesis (growth) to become less efficient and the resulting consequence leads to reduced muscle mass (sarcopenia) which can affect strength and mobility. Protein consumption may be one opportunity to alleviate this problem especially when consumed in appropriate amounts following resistance training. This study is designed to determine if a soy dairy protein blend, shown to be effective in younger adults, will produce beneficial muscle protein synthesis in older healthy adults following resistance exercise.
Aging is associated with a decline in muscle mass, strength, and physical function, leading to muscle mass loss and weakness. These concerns can impact an individual's functional independence and quality of life (QOL). Dietary protein stimulates muscle protein growth. Current studies suggest that optimal protein intake for older adults is greater than the Recommended Dietary Allowance. Barriers to consuming protein-rich foods in older adults include reductions in taste and smell, dentition, dexterity, and changes in living situation. Therefore, nutritional interventions are needed to effectively improve eating behaviors, diet quality, and stimulate muscle growth and strength. These interventions will help prevent, manage, and promote muscle mass loss recovery. Older adults may not be aware of their changing nutrient needs and therefore may lack the skills to prepare nutritionally adequate foods properly. Cooking demonstrations, or culinary medicine (CM), can help teach healthy cooking to reduce potential red meat consumption barriers and improve community-dwelling older adults' dietary habits. Thus, CM can be a novel strategy to improve diet quality in older adults and promote and augment at-home cooking. CM is an evidenced-base field that combines skills of preparing, cooking, and presenting food with the science of medicine. This field can help to accomplish potential eating behaviors and health outcome improvements. A tailored CM program can be an effective strategy that could reduce barriers in protein intake that will enable older adults to age well and productively.
Bariatric surgery is an effective treatment for severe obesity but results in loss of muscle mass. The investigators will test the hypothesis that consumption of an Essential Amino Acid-based nutritional formulation will maintain muscle mass while stimulating fat loss after bariatric surgery.
The purpose of the study is to quantify and compare the serum nutrient and hormonal profile, and muscle protein synthesis rates, in response to consuming isonitrogenous amounts of a traditional East African meal, mung bean stew with a traditional African corn bread made from two different kinds of maize (whole corn flour or refined). Specific aim 1: Describe the post-prandial nutrient and hormonal profile in serum in the 3 hours following consumption of a portion of mung bean stew with traditional African corn bread made with either whole grain maize flour or refined maize flour. Specific aim 2: Compare the ability a portion of mung bean stew and traditional African corn bread made with either whole grain maize flour or refined maize flour to activate mTORC1-specific and whole muscle protein synthesis in an in vitro model of muscle.
The study aims to evaluate if there is a difference between eating conventionally raised or organic chicken. The investigators will measure and compare the nutrient and hormone levels in the participant's blood and the muscle protein synthesis rate (the rate at which your body builds muscle) after eating chicken from different farming practices. This will help the investigators to understand if these farming practices impact muscle protein synthesis and overall health. Specific aim 1: Describe the post-prandial nutrient and hormonal profile in serum in the 3 hours following consumption of 100 grams (\~32g of protein) of boneless-skinless conventional vs. regenerative chicken breast meat. Specific aim 2: Compare the ability of boneless-skinless chicken breasts grown with these two farming practices to activate mTORC1-specific and whole muscle protein synthesis in an in vitro model of muscle.
Traditionally, when performing resistance exercise, repetitions are performed in a continuous manner resulting in a decrease in velocity, and thus power output. "Cluster" set is an alternative to counter the reduction in velocity and power output. Cluster sets incorporate a brief rest (15-30 seconds) between individual repetitions (inter-repetition rest) or group of repetitions (intra-set rest) within a set of resistive exercise. In contrast to traditional set configurations, which result in an almost linear decrease in force, velocity, and power -cluster sets maintain and/or attenuate the loss in power, primarily due to higher velocities. The purpose of this research is to compare the muscle protein synthesis response to acute bouts of cluster and traditional set configurations. Investigators will assess muscle protein synthesis rates before and after acute resistance exercise in 14 resistance-trained males and females (Age: 20-35; back squat 1.5 x body weight; 3 years of resistance training experience). The volunteers are required to be removed (at least six weeks) from all ergogenic levels of nutritional supplements that have previously been shown to affect protein synthesis. Blood and muscle biopsies will be collected as a part of testing. Further, subjects will be required to perform moderate-to-high intensity resistance exercise.
In a crossover design 10 young healthy adults (20-35 y) will receive stable isotope tracer infusions and perform a single bout of resistance exercise. Immediately after exercise participants will ingest either 3.5 oz of Salmon fillet or its constituent macronutrients as isolated amino acids and fat. Repeated blood and breath samples as well as muscle biopsies will be collected to determine whole body amino acid kinetics, muscle amino acid transporters, anabolic signalling and myofibrillar protein synthesis rates during the trials
The most severe form of chronic renal failure is end-stage-renal-disease with maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) as the most common treatment strategy. MHD patients experience a number of metabolic and phenotypic derangements including skeletal muscle wasting. Previously, it has been demonstrated that dialysis treatment leads to increased rates of forearm phenylalanine uptake (proxy for 'muscle' protein synthesis) with an even greater rates of phenylalanine release (proxy for 'muscle' protein breakdown). Hence, the dialysis procedure itself is catabolic and induces a catabolic carryover for several hours after dialysis. This suggests prolonged post-dialysis disturbances in whole body- and skeletal muscle protein metabolism in MHD patients. Moreover, dialysis treatment in itself results in \~20 % losses of circulating amino acids in the dialysate. Collectively, this creates the need for replacement of amino acids by protein supplementation during and/or after dialysis. The ingestion of protein-dense meals in between dialysis treatments likely represents an important dietary strategy to counterbalance dialysis-induced catabolism and to achieve the current recommended protein intakes (set at 1.2 g/kg bodyweight/d) to limit muscle protein loss in MHD patients. However, the effectiveness of protein-rich meal ingestion to augment postprandial whole body and muscle protein metabolic responses in MHD patients outside of the dialysis period remain largely undefined. The purpose of this study is to compare basal and postprandial whole body leucine body kinetics, muscle anabolic sensing mechanisms, markers of muscle proteolysis, and myofibillar protein synthesis rates to mixed meal ingestion on a non-dialysis day in eight MHD patients, between 20-80 and to compare these outcomes to age- and BMI-matched controls. The investigators will use specifically produced intrinsically L-\[5,5,5-2H3\]leucine labeled eggs combined with primed constant amino acid tracer infusion methods and concomitant blood and muscle direct sampling to make direct assessments of in vivo protein digestion and absorption kinetics and subsequent postprandial muscle protein synthetic responses in MHD patents and controls. On the test day, subjects will remain sedentary for the determination of muscle protein synthesis in both the fasted state and after consumption of the meal.
Obesity has numerous comorbidities that are associated with exceedingly high healthcare costs. In addition to well- characterized impairments in lipid and glucose metabolism, obesity is associated with altered protein metabolism. We have recently observed that obese individuals are essentially nonresponsive to protein ingestion with respect to myofibrillar protein synthesis. This suggests that skeletal muscle remodeling in obese individuals is impaired possibly contributing to a poor metabolic quality of muscle. Resistance exercise is known to strongly augment muscle protein synthesis in response to protein ingestion. The purpose of this research is to determine the muscle protein synthetic response during post-exercise recovery in obese individuals. Using stable isotope methodology, we will determine the postprandial muscle protein synthetic response in 14 male and female obese adults (Age: 20-45, BMI: 30-39.9 kg/m2) immediately after an acute bout of resistance exercise. Participants will be sedentary (\< 60 min exercise/ week) and weight stable for a minimum of 6 months. During the testing blood and muscle samples will be collected. In addition participants will be asked to perform moderate intensity resistance exercise. Completion of the proposed research will identify the role of resistance exercise in the maintenance of skeletal muscle tissue after the consumption of a protein-dense meal in obese people.
Muscle protein synthesis can be stimulated by ingestion of protein sources, such as whey, casein or soy. Protein supplementation can be useful to restore protein turnover after exercise but also to preserve skeletal muscle mass and function in aging adults. Ingestion of large doses of essential amino acids (EAA) or certain protein supplements may be an effective strategy to induce muscle protein synthesis. However, in many cases, it may not be practical or feasible to consume a large volume of amino acids or protein required for an effective response by muscle. Several evidences show how reduced strength and muscle mass, even in early life, are predictors of early mortality which explicit the importance of developing more effective methods to improve muscle quality. Therefore, identifying the better sources of protein that have higher anabolic potency is of high significance. The goal of this study is to determine the anabolic potency and efficacy of a new and novel Whey Protein Hydrolysate mixture (WPH) on skeletal muscle protein synthesis in healthy young subjects (age 20-35 yr). Previous studies on rats indicate WPH induces significant increases in muscle protein synthesis compared with carbohydrates or whey-amino acid mixture. WPH contains mostly peptides, which have physiological effects and could be absorbed more rapidly. Preliminary data from preclinical study has also demonstrated that WPH can stimulate muscle protein synthesis at lower doses compared with intact whey proteins. Thus, WPH could be absorbed more rapidly and may maximally stimulate muscle protein synthesis. Although there is substantial data on the individual effects of BCCA and intact protein such as whey, there have been no clinical investigations that have explored the efficacy of WPH for stimulating muscle protein synthesis in humans. Therefore, the investigators propose that WPH will increase muscle protein synthesis. They will compare the response of WHP to the response of WHEY when equal protein is provided in both treatments. 10 healthy subjects will be recruited and will receive both WPH and WHEY supplementation in a single blind crossover design. Muscle protein synthesis will be measured on both occasions. This acute study will allow to determine whether low dose WPH supplementation will be an effective nutritional treatment to stimulate muscle protein synthesis in young adults.
In crossover trials, ten (N=10) young men (18-35 y) will receive stable isotope tracer infusions and perform a single bout of resistance exercise. Immediately after resistance exercise, participants will ingest stable isotope labeled whole eggs (18 g protein, 17 g fat) or egg whites (18 g protein, 0 g fat) cooked in scrambled form. Repeated blood and muscle biopsies will be collected to determine whole body amino acid kinetics, muscle amino acid transporters, anabolic signaling and myofibrillar protein synthesis rates during the trials.
The modern warfighter faces numerous physiological challenges including sleep deprivation, sustained intense physical activity, and caloric restriction, the combined effects of which may result in the loss of lean body mass and decreased physical performance. Dietary interventions may help preserve lean body mass and facilitate recovery from periods of intense physical demand. For example, dietary strategies that increase amino acid availability have been shown to stimulate protein synthesis in skeletal muscle following resistance exercise. Because military tasks also incorporate endurance exercise components, studies regarding the effects of increasing dietary amino acids following endurance exercise are warranted. The objectives of this study are to characterize the effect of endurance exercise on protein synthesis and breakdown as well as the ability of an essential amino acid supplement to influence skeletal muscle protein metabolism and its cellular and molecular regulation following endurance exercise.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether omega-3 fatty acid supplementation influences muscle protein synthesis rates in young and older adults.
The purpose of the study is to compare two different nutritional supplements with respect to their effect on building muscle, and to determine the factors that control the rate at which muscle tissue can be produced in subjects with cancer. After three days of receiving all meals from the Reynolds Institute on Aging in order to stabilize their diet, subjects will then return to the Institute to perform a single day study, where they will be given one of two supplements to drink. Blood will be taken from a catheter placed in one of their arms and three muscle biopsy samples will be taken from a leg. Subjects will have x-ray evidence of cancer and be 40 years of age or older in order to participate. It is the hypothesis that a nutritional supplement with a high amount of protein and containing leucine will target the metabolism problems in cancer patients.
The amount and quality of skeletal muscle mass determines physical performance, but also a significant contributor to metabolic health. As such, the maintenance of skeletal muscle mass is relevant across the lifespan to remain active in family and community life. Food ingestion, particularly protein, is one of the main anabolic to skeletal muscle tissue by stimulating muscle protein synthesis rates. There have been multiple attempts to identify specialized performance nutrition products (e.g., various isolated protein powders) to maximize the anabolic properties of dietary protein on muscle. Our research group, however, has advocated for a food focus approach to meet dietary protein requirements. Particularly, we propose that whole foods demonstrate food matrix effects (nutrient-nutrient interactions) that creates a greater anabolic action on muscle beyond what amino acids can create alone. Therefore, the objective of this study is to identify the anabolic properties of consuming lipid-rich pork products when compared to their leaner counter-parts. Our working hypothesis that the ingestion of 84% or 96% lean ground pork condition will stimulate a greater increase in muscle protein synthesis rates compared to an isocaloric carbohydrate beverage in healthy adults. We further hypothesize that the ingestion of 84% lean pork will augment the stimulation of muscle protein synthesis rates to a greater extent than 96% lean ground pork. To achieve our objective, we will recruit 15 healthy men and women (20-50 y) to receive prime-constant infusions to directly measure muscle protein synthesis rates before and after treatment ingestion using our lab's established methods.
The anabolic action of 'fast' whey protein on the regulation of postprandial muscle protein synthesis has been established to be short-lived in healthy young adults. Our aim was assess the time course of anabolic signaling events and stimulation of muscle protein synthesis rates (MPS) after ingestion of a food source that represents a more typical meal-induced pattern of aminoacidemia, namely milk protein concentrate, in healthy young males.
The amount of essential amino acids (EAA) necessary to maximally stimulate muscle protein synthesis and optimize whole-body net protein balance during caloric deprivation has not been determined. This study will address that gap in knowledge by examining the resting and post-exercise muscle and whole-body protein kinetic responses to ingesting varying amounts of EAA after a 5 day period of negative energy balance. This study will provide the initial evidence to support the development of a recovery-based food product for military combat rations.
In a crossover design 10 young healthy adults (20-35 y) will receive stable isotope tracer infusions and perform a single bout of resistance exercise. Immediately after exercise participants will ingest either 246 g of rice and beans or its constituent macronutrients as isolated amino acids, carbohydrates, fiber, and fat. Repeated blood and muscle biopsies will be collected to determine amino acid concentrations, anabolic signaling and myofibrillar protein synthesis rates during the trials.
Adopting a healthy eating pattern is important for meeting dietary recommendations and weight management. Although less clear, it seems reasonable to assume that the eating patterns we typically follow can also affect our psychological wellbeing. As such, healthy eating patterns are often adapted to suit one's personal preference. For example, many people choose to follow a vegetarian-style eating pattern whereby meat, poultry, and seafood are excluded from the diet. However, current research suggests that vegetarian eating patterns may result in decreased synthesis of new muscle proteins when compared to the typical meat-based US-style diet. This ultimately leads to reduced muscle quality and mass which increases the risk of dependence and mobility limitations later in life. Another important factor to consider when adapting a healthy eating pattern is the frequency and distribution of meals throughout the day. In the US, protein intake is typically skewed throughout the day such that people consume more protein at dinner when compared to breakfast. This skewed distribution combined with a low meal frequency (3 meals per day) can also sacrifice the rate of muscle protein synthesis. As such, it is important to investigate the interaction between food choices, meal frequency, and protein distribution to promote muscle health and prevent development of disease and disability. In addition, it is also important to understand how these eating patterns affect enjoyment and pleasure following meals. This work will help to determine healthy eating patterns that promote muscle health and psychological wellbeing.
The optimal EAA-containing protein format necessary to maximally stimulate muscle protein synthesis and optimize whole-body net protein balance during caloric deprivation has not been determined. This study will address that gap in knowledge by examining post, whole-body exercise muscle and whole-body protein kinetic responses to ingesting varying EAA-containing protein formats after a 5 day period of negative energy balance. This study will provide the initial evidence to support the development of a recovery-based food product for military combat rations.
We will be directly comparing a high-quality protein diet composed primarily of lean pork loin (PORK) to a lower-quality plant-based protein diet (PLANT) in individuals with prediabetes on muscle and whole-body protein turnover and glucose regulation.
The purpose of the study is to quantify and compare the serum amino acid profile, and muscle protein synthesis rates, in response to consuming isonitrogenous amounts of ground meat (beef and pork) or plant-based alternatives -(soy and pea protein-based patties). Specific aim 1: Describe the post-prandial amino acid profile in serum in the 3 hours following consumption of the following four burger patties, in quantities calculated to deliver 20 grams of protein: ground beef, ground pork, Beyond Meat® burger, and tofu burger. Specific aim 2: Compare the ability of these four different foods to activate mTORC1 and protein synthesis in muscle.
Previous work conducted by the Investigators demonstrates that an essential amino acid(EAA)-enriched whey protein combination format is an efficient EAA/protein format to support enhanced whole-body protein balance and sustain muscle protein synthesis compared to isonitrogenous amounts of whey alone or a mixed-macronutrient meal. However, additional work is needed to optimize the formulation to ensure the best possible muscle and whole-body anabolic responses are achieved. This includes addressing the potential value of adding non-EAA/protein components to support energy demands. Providing additional non-protein energy to an EAA-enriched whey protein formulation may reduce the proportion of exogenous amino acids directed towards energy production thereby preserving its use for muscle protein synthesis. However, whether suppressing exogenous amino acid oxidation by providing additional carbohydrate allows for a greater muscle protein synthetic stimulus during moderate energy deficit (- 30% total energy requirements) is unknown. Therefore, this study will test the effects of EAA-enriched whey protein plus carbohydrate versus EAA-enriched whey plus additional EAA using a randomized, cross-sectional longitudinal study design.
This study will evaluate the adaptations in skeletal muscle that occur in response to 10 weeks of weight training with or without peanut protein supplementation in older adult men and women.
Skeletal muscle quality is an important determinant of exercise performance and overall health. It is vital for not just movement, but also metabolizing nutrients. Protein from the diet can promote muscle protein synthesis for muscle recovery and growth. More importantly, doing so shifts net protein balance positively (e.g. protein synthesis is greater than protein breakdown) and promotes greater rates of muscle protein turnover. Leucine is an amino acid required to build muscle, but it also acts as a signaling molecule informing the muscle to start protein synthesis. Before reaching skeletal muscle, dietary protein is digested into small peptides and free amino acids. Rate of absorption from the intestine to the blood stream is significantly faster for peptides compared to amino acids. As amino acid availability in the blood is a precursor for muscle protein synthesis, our objective is to determine if the different absorption rates between free amino acid and peptides influence muscle protein synthetic and breakdown rates.
Phenylketonuria (PKU), an inherited genetic disorder, can cause irreversible brain damage, declined executive function, and autistic tendencies unless a phenylalanine (Phe) restricted diet is consistently maintained throughout life. Promoting anabolism, the uptake of free amino acids from the extracellular space, is a key component to maintaining plasma phenylalanine concentrations within treatment range among patients with PKU. Exercise promotes muscle protein synthesis and anabolism, but the effect on blood phenylalanine concentrations in patients with PKU has not been reported. Our objective is to assess the impact of an acute bout of moderate intensity exercise on protein oxidation and plasma amino acid concentrations, as a potential adjunctive therapy for patients with PKU. The investigators hypothesize that moderate intensity exercise decreases amino acid oxidation, increases muscle protein synthesis, and promotes tissue uptake of essential amino acids, thereby lowering plasma phenylalanine concentrations in patients with Phenylketonuria.
Loss of skeletal muscle strength and skeletal muscle mass occurs with of aging. This are-related decline in skeletal muscle mass and skeletal muscle strength is a major underlying factor contributing to many of the metabolic disorders and frailty of the investigators rapidly expanding aging population. Endurance (aerobic) and resistance exercise training programs have been shown to effectively reverse the age-related decline in metabolic and contractile muscle functions. The investigators will measure synthesis rates of individual muscle proteins in 36 each of young (18-30 yrs) and 36 older (\> 65 yrs) people to determine their response to 8 weeks each of endurance, resistance, combined endurance and resistance training, or placebo exercise training. Hypotheses. 1. to measure fractional synthesis rates of multiple muscle proteins and identify those that are enhanced by an endurance exercise program 2. to determine whether changes in protein synthesis in response to endurance exercise programs are dependent on age 3. to measure fractional muscle synthesis rates of multiple muscle proteins and to identify those that are enhanced by a resistance exercise program 4. to determine whether changes in protein synthesis in response to resistance exercise programs are dependent on age
The key objective of this pilot research study is to dose human volunteers with a heavy (non-radioactive) isotope derivative of nicotinamide to detect NAD synthesis in human skeletal muscle. The ultimate goal is to examine the impact of lifestyle choices, aging, nutraceuticals, and drugs on the rate of NAD synthesis in human subjects.
Musculoskeletal injury, particularly injuries requiring surgical repair, induce significant muscle atrophy, resulting in diminished physical function. The protein turnover-associated (diminished protein synthesis, elevated protein breakdown, negative net muscle protein balance) etiology of injury and surgical-induced atrophy are, in part, similar to those observed with muscle wasting induced by hyper-catabolic and inflammatory conditions and prolonged periods of skeletal muscle disuse (e.g., cachexia and joint immobilization). Combining dietary strategies to optimize the anabolic properties of beef as a high quality protein source that provides essential amino acids prior to surgery and throughout post-surgery rehabilitation may attenuate muscle atrophy and accelerate the restoration of muscle function. This project will examine the efficacy of habitual consumption of a beef-based higher protein meal pattern and post-physical rehabilitation beef protein supplementation throughout post-surgical rehabilitation intervention on skeletal muscle function in response to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) repair in healthy, physically active adults. Stable isotope methodologies, proteomic analysis of muscle protein synthesis, and molecular assessments of skeletal muscle atrophy and remodeling will be assessed to evaluate the effects of increased protein intake, including consumption of a high quality beef-based protein supplement following patient physical therapy sessions on: 1. Skeletal muscle protein fractional synthetic rates during and in recovery from surgery; 2. Inflammatory, proteolytic, and anabolic intramuscular signaling during surgery and their association with skeletal muscle protein synthesis and muscle function; 3. Muscle size and functional recovery; 4. Duration to return to routine exercise, sport, or physical activity.