Amino Acids Help Muscle Health in the Elderly

by | Jul 2, 2008 | 2008, Aging, Amino Acids, Branched Chain Amino Acids

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Elderly patients given 22 grams of essential amino acids experienced a 22% increase in muscle strength. 

A health challenge that comes with age is the loss of muscle, a condition called sarcopenia. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 28-34% of adults aged 65 to 74 and 35-44% of adults ages 75 or older engage in no leisure-time physical activity (1). Sarcopenia has been linked to an increase in falls, functional decline, and osteoporosis. It also poses a risk for type 2 diabetes (2) and contributes to the $17 billion each year to treat injuries in the elderly due to falling (3).

Fortunately, a number of options are available to help wellness in the elderly, including vitamin D (4) and vitamin E (5).  Now new study (7) has found that amino acids may help muscle health in the elderly. In the study, 12 elderly patients were given 22 grams of essential amino acids (0.36 grams histidine, 0.94 g isoleucine, 3.95 g leucine, 1.88  lysine, 0.39 g methionine, 0.51 g phenylalanine, 1.05 g threonine, 0.82 g valine) plus 1.10 grams of arginine in two 11-gram doses per day for 16 weeks. Eight patients were given a placebo.

The researchers found that those in the amino acid group gained an average of 3.1 pounds of muscle over the 16 weeks and experienced a 22% increase in muscle strength in the form of a one-repetition leg press. They also had “significant improvements” in two functional tests: the 5-step test (12% improvement) and the floor-transfer test (29% improvement). The improvements in the amino acid group “occurred without significant changes in other dietary intake or physical activity.” No significant changes were seen in the placebo group.

For the researchers, “the results of the present study showed improvements of lean body mass, muscle strength and physical function in response to supplementation of the diet with Essential Amino Acids (EAA) + arginine in glucose intolerant elderly subjects.

Source: Børsheim, Elisabet, Quynh-Uyen T. Bui, Sandrine Tissier, Hisamine Kobayashi, Arny A. Ferrando, and Robert R. Wolfe. “Effect of amino acid supplementation on muscle mass, strength and physical function in elderly.” Clinical nutrition 27, no. 2 (2008): 189-195.

© 2008 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism.

Posted July 2, 2008.

References:

  1. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
  2. Kamel, H.K., Sarcopenia and aging. Nutr Rev, 2003. 61(5 Pt 1): p. 157-67
  3. National Osteoporosis Foundation Website “Fast Facts”.
  4. Bunout D.  Effects of vitamin D supplementation and exercise training on physical performance in Chilean vitamin D deficient elderly subject.  Exp Gerontol 2007; 41(8): 746-752
  5. Ferrucci L.  Lower Plasma Vitamin E Levels Are Associated With the Frailty Syndrome: The InCHIANTI Study.  J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2006 61: 278-283.