Muscle Loss, Muscle Anabolism
Conditions
Keywords
protein turnover, whole body protein turnover, essential amino acids, leucine
Brief summary
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.
Interventions
DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTEssential Amino Acids
10 Gram Essential Amino Acid solutions with different leucine contents consumed during two identical endurance exercise trials
OTHEREndurance exercise
60 minute endurance exercise session
Sponsors
Tufts University
United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 35 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Men and women aged 18 - 35 years * Weight stable * Recreationally active with VO2max of 40 - 50 ml/kg/min * Refrain from taking any NSAIDS or any aspirin-containing medications * Supervisor approval if a federal employee
Exclusion criteria
* Disease or medication that affects macronutrient metabolism and/or the ability to participate in strenuous exercise * Allergies to foods or medications (including, but not limited to, lidocaine or phenylalanine) to be utilized in the study * Abnormal PT/PTT test or problems with blood clotting * Present condition of alcoholism or other substance abuse that compromises exercise capacity * Musculoskeletal injuries that compromise the ability to exercise * Pregnancy
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Change in muscle protein synthesis after exercise or exercise with amino acid supplementation. | An average change over a 210 minute recovery period from a 60 minute endurance exercise session |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Change in intracellular signaling after exercise or exercise with amino acid supplementation. | At 30 minutes and 210 minutes after a 60 minute endurance exercise session |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed