NCT00929929

Study to Assess the Effect of Leucine Along With Resistance Exercise on Muscle Strength and Quality of Life in Elders

Randomized Double-blind, Placebo-controlled, Parallel Design, Pilot Study to Assess the Effect of a Nutritional Supplement With Leucine, Along With a Progressive Resistance Exercise Program, on Muscle Strength and Quality of Life in Elderly People.

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 30 (actual)
• Sponsor: Hospital Clinic of Barcelona · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 70 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether a nutritional supplement with an amino acid called leucine along with resistance exercise are effective in the improvement of muscle strength and quality of life in elderly people.

Detailed description

Physiological aging is accompanied by functional loss and changes in different organs, including the skeletal muscle, with a progressive reduction in muscle mass. This is called physiological sarcopenia of the elderly. In any population of autonomous individuals over 65 years, a proportion between 3% and 32% depending on age, meets the criteria of the so-called Frailty Syndrome. Frailty is characterized by a decrease in reserves and resistance to aggression, conferring increased vulnerability, disability and poor vital prognosis. A feature of the Frailty Syndrome is the potential reversibility of many of the elements at the initial stages of frailty. Currently, available treatment for frailty is limited. One of the tools should be the prevention of sarcopenia, where nutritional treatment and exercise have a vital role. Protein synthesis in aged muscle can be improved by increasing leucine concentration above physiological levels by a higher intake. Regarding exercise, progressive resistance training is one of the interventions that have shown better results in the increase of mass and muscle strength in elderly people. The hypothesis raises the possibility that an intervention consisting of a leucine supplement along with progressive resistance training, is superior to the same training program and a placebo in improving muscle strength and quality of life in elderly people.

Conditions

• Ageing

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT	L-leucine.	10 g of leucine per day, during 12 weeks.
DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT	Maltodextrin.	10 g of maltodextrin per day, during 12 weeks.
BEHAVIORAL	Exercise program.	Progressive resistance exercise program 4 days a week, during 12 weeks.

Timeline

• Start date: 2009-12-01
• Primary completion: 2012-12-01
• Completion: 2013-06-01
• First posted: 2009-06-30
• Last updated: 2014-10-09

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Spain