Effects of Age on Amino Acid Delivery to Tendon

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT04064528

Enrollment

Registered

2019-08-22

Start date

2019-09-06

Completion date

2023-08-01

Last updated

2023-12-14

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Aging

Keywords

amino acid, tendon, aging

Brief summary

Dietary amino acid supplementation may provide an effective means to promote tendon injury recovery and enhance collagen synthesis. While most published research has been completed in animal models, research with young adults has shown that a leucine-rich whey isolate consumed during a chronic resistance training (RT) intervention resulted in greater gains (\ 60%) in tendon CSA when compared to placebo. Leucine-rich diets have also improved tendon collagen content in rodents. Further, in our preliminary work utilizing microdialysis, we demonstrate that oral consumption of a leucine-rich amino acid beverage increased delivery of amino acids to tendons in young adults (21-30 years). However, whether aging alters the delivery of amino acids to tendons after oral consumption has not be investigated. In order to optimize amino acid dosing for chronic interventional studies, we wish to determine if aging influences amino acid concentration in the peritendinous (space around the tendon) space after oral consumption.

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTAmino Acids

10 g bolus of essential amino acids

Study design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

FACTORIAL

Primary purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

NONE

Intervention model description

Young (21-30 years old) and older (60-75 years) adults will each receive an oral bolus of 10 g of essential amino acids.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

21 Years to 75 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria

* body mass index \>35 kg•m-2, those on medications known to affect protein or collagen metabolism, e.g. acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or prescription cyclooxygenase inhibitors, previous history of tendinopathy, or diabetes.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Achilles Peritendinous Amino Acid Levels in young and older adults	0-6 hours post consumption	Concentrations of amino acids will be measured from around the Achilles tendon

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026