NCT07280819

Nutritional and Physical Intervention During Bed Rest

The Impact of Protein Source and Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation on Muscle Protein Synthesis During Bed Rest

• Status: Not Yet Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 20 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Maastricht University Medical Center · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 35 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Hospitalization often involves long periods of bed rest and reduced nutritional intake, which can lead to skeletal muscle loss and anabolic resistance. These effects slow recovery and increase the risk of complications, long-term disability and healthcare costs. Animal-based proteins are effective at stimulating muscle protein synthesis (MPS) because they contain all essential amino acids and have high bioavailability, but they are less sustainable. Plant-based proteins are more environmentally friendly but may be less effective for MPS due to lower essential amino acid content and lower digestibility. Combining different plant proteins may improve their quality, yet their impact during bed rest is still unclear. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) may help counteract anabolic resistance by mimicking exercise, but its long-term effects in bedridden individuals are not well studied. This prospective, randomized, controlled trial aims to assess the effects of a nutritional intervention (plant-dominant versus dairy-based protein) and a physical stimulus (NMES versus non-NMES) on MPS during 4 days of bed rest in healthy young adults.

Conditions

• Muscle Protein Synthetic Response to Protein

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT	Nutritionally complete tube feed providing a sole source of nutrition with a plant-dominant protein mix	Containing plant-based proteins.
DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT	Nutritionally complete tube feed providing a sole source of nutrition with an animal-based protein mix	Containing animal-based proteins.
DEVICE	Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES)	The protocol will consist of a warm-up period (5 min), a stimulation period (30min), and a cooling-down period (5min).

Timeline

• Start date: 2026-01-01
• Primary completion: 2028-01-01
• Completion: 2029-01-01
• First posted: 2025-12-12
• Last updated: 2025-12-12

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Netherlands