Skeletal Muscle Response to Amino Acids and Load Carriage Exercise

NCT01714479 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 12-18-HC
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 40
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Warfighters often experience physical overload, as the uniform and associated gear that they carry burdens them with substantial loads. The loads increase energy expenditure to levels that exceed a Warfighter's typical energy intake. The typical assault load is approximately 25 kg, although loads as high as 55 kg are often carried, which when combined with extreme energy expenditures can degrade health and performance, and increase the risk of injury. Branched-chain amino acid (leucine) supplementation may confer protection against the negative effects of operational stress by stimulating muscle protein synthesis and reducing degradation. This study will determine if leucine-enriched nutrition supplementation confers protection against the negative consequences of sustained load carriage exercise, and explore the mechanisms by which leucine might impart protection.

Conditions

Muscle Loss; Muscle Anabolism; Muscle Performance

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in muscle protein synthesis and whole-body protein turnover during and after load carriage or conventional exercise with or without amino acid supplementation

  90 min exercise bout (exercise) and 180 min of recovery

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Changes in muscle performance in recovery from load carriage or conventional exercise with or without amino acid supplementation

  4, 24, 48, and 72 hours post exercise

Study Arms (4)

Load Carriage - Control

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Load Carriage - with a calorie-free placebo

Other: Placebo

Load Carriage - leucine-enriched nutrition supplement

EXPERIMENTAL

Load Carriage with leucine-enriched amino acid supplementation

Other: Leucine-enriched nutritional supplement

Conventional Exercise - Control

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Conventional Exercise with a calorie-free placebo

Other: Placebo

Conventional Exercise - Leucine-enriched Nutrition Supplement

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Conventional Exercise with leucine-enriched Amino Acid supplementation

Other: Leucine-enriched nutritional supplement

Interventions

Leucine-enriched nutritional supplement OTHER

A protein and carbohydrate supplement with high levels of leucine

Conventional Exercise - Leucine-enriched Nutrition Supplement; Load Carriage - leucine-enriched nutrition supplement

Placebo OTHER

Conventional Exercise - Control; Load Carriage - Control

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 39 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Weight stable (±5 lbs)with a body mass index between 22-29 kg/m2 and a VO2peak of 40 - 60 ml/kg/min
• Willing to refrain from taking any NSAIDS (i.e., aspirin, Advil®, Aleve®, Naprosyn®), or any aspirin-containing products, alchohol, and nicotine
• Females must be on oral contraception

You may not qualify if:

• Metabolic or cardiovascular abnormalities, gastrointestinal disorders
• Disease or medication that affects macronutrient metabolism or the ability to participate in strenuous exercise
• Allergies or intolerance to foods (e.g. lactose intolerance/milk allergy), vegetarian practices, or medications (including, but not limited to, lidocaine or phenylalanine) to be used in the study
• Anemia (HCT \<38) and Sickle Cell Anemia/Trait, abnormal PT/PTT test or problems with blood clotting
• Present condition of alcoholism, use of nutritional/sports supplements, anabolic steroids, or other substance abuse issues
• Musculoskeletal injuries that compromise the ability to exercise
• Blood donation within 8 weeks of enrollment
• Pregnancy and women not on oral contraceptives

Sponsors & Collaborators

• United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine: lead
• US Army Natick Soldier Research, Development & Engineering Center: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine

Natick, Massachusetts, 01760, United States

Location

Related Publications (3)

• Margolis LM, McClung HL, Murphy NE, Carrigan CT, Pasiakos SM. Skeletal Muscle myomiR Are Differentially Expressed by Endurance Exercise Mode and Combined Essential Amino Acid and Carbohydrate Supplementation. Front Physiol. 2017 Mar 23;8:182. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2017.00182. eCollection 2017.

  PMID: 28386239 BACKGROUND

• Pasiakos SM, McClung HL, Margolis LM, Murphy NE, Lin GG, Hydren JR, Young AJ. Human Muscle Protein Synthetic Responses during Weight-Bearing and Non-Weight-Bearing Exercise: A Comparative Study of Exercise Modes and Recovery Nutrition. PLoS One. 2015 Oct 16;10(10):e0140863. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0140863. eCollection 2015.

  PMID: 26474292 RESULT

• Margolis LM, Murphy NE, Carrigan CT, McClung HL, Pasiakos SM. Ingesting a Combined Carbohydrate and Essential Amino Acid Supplement Compared to a Non-Nutritive Placebo Blunts Mitochondrial Biogenesis-Related Gene Expression after Aerobic Exercise. Curr Dev Nutr. 2017 May 23;1(6):e000893. doi: 10.3945/cdn.117.000893. eCollection 2017 Jun.

  PMID: 29955707 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Muscular Atrophy

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Neuromuscular Manifestations; Neurologic Manifestations; Nervous System Diseases; Atrophy; Pathological Conditions, Anatomical; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms

Study Officials

• Stefan M Pasiakos, Ph.D.

  United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: TRIPLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: FED
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 23, 2012
• First Posted: October 26, 2012
• Study Start: October 1, 2012
• Primary Completion: November 1, 2013
• Study Completion: November 1, 2013
• Last Updated: July 21, 2017

Record last verified: 2016-09

Locations

US (1)