Beta-alanine Supplementation and Its Effects on Performance, Muscle Carnosine Content and Safety in Athletes With Spinal-cord Injury

NCT02604927 | Unknown

• 1 other identifier: B-Alanine Paraplegic Athletes
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 20
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Paralympians competing in wheelchair sports may experience a very high glycolytic demand (and therefore acidotic environment) in their upper-body muscles, particularly in high-intensity disciplines. Previous studies from our group have shown that upper-body exercise is very sensitive to the ergogenic effects of β-alanine supplementation and to other nutritional supplements capable of increasing buffering capacity. In line with this, have shown that upper-body muscle groups benefit more from artificially induced alkalosis than lower-body muscle groups. Although β-alanine appears to be an interesting and potential ergogenic supplement for paralympians, no study to date has assessed its potential in wheelchair athletes.In this study, we will evaluate the effects of β-alanine supplementation on upper-body performance in wheelchair athletes.

Conditions

Spinal Cord Injuries

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Exercise performance (Time to exhaustion test)

  Time to exhaustion test performed on arm crank ergometer

  28 days

• Muscle carnosine content before and after supplementation

  Assessed by muscle biopsy samples before performance tests

  28 days

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Muscle carnosine content in trained (deltoid) vs. untrained (vastus lateralis) muscles

  28 days

• Blood pH.

  5 minutes after performance tests

• Safety of beta-alanine supplementation measured by complete hemogram analysis

  28 days

Study Arms (2)

Placebo

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

800 mg of dextrose, four times per day, during 28 days.

Dietary Supplement: Dextrose

Beta-alanine

EXPERIMENTAL

800 mg of beta-alanine, four times per day, during 28 days.

Dietary Supplement: Beta-alanine

Interventions

Beta-alanine DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Beta-alanine

Dextrose DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Placebo

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 40 Years
• Sex: male
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Paralympian training for any exercise modality for at least one year;
• A weekly training volume of 6 hours or more;
• Have a spinal cord injury accompanied by loss of motor function in the lower limbs for at least one year;
• Available for carrying out the experimental procedures.

You may not qualify if:

• Use of creatine or beta-alanine for at least 3 and 6 months before the trial;
• Cardiovascular or respiratory disease;
• Clinical condition that result in malabsorption of nutrients;
• Any other medical condition that prevents the realization of experimental procedures.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Sao Paulo: lead

Study Sites (1)

School of Physical Education and Sports, University of Sao Paulo

São Paulo, São Paulo, 05508-030, Brazil

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Spinal Cord Injuries

Interventions

beta-Alanine; Glucose

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Spinal Cord Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Trauma, Nervous System; Wounds and Injuries

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Alanine; Amino Acids; Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins; Hexoses; Monosaccharides; Sugars; Carbohydrates

Central Study Contacts

Guilherme Artioli, PhD

CONTACT

55 11 30913096; artioli@usp.br

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: TRIPLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 22, 2015
• First Posted: November 16, 2015
• Study Start: February 1, 2016
• Primary Completion: November 1, 2016
• Study Completion: September 1, 2017
• Last Updated: November 16, 2015

Record last verified: 2015-11

Locations

BR (1)