PMID- 18514631
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20080724
LR  - 20080602
IS  - 0002-9149 (Print)
IS  - 0002-9149 (Linking)
VI  - 101
IP  - 11A
DP  - 2008 Jun 2
TI  - Impairment in walking capacity and myocardial function in the elderly: is there a 
      role for nonpharmacologic therapy with nutritional amino acid supplements?
PG  - 78E-81E
LID - 10.1016/j.amjcard.2008.03.005 [doi]
AB  - Elderly persons have reduced muscular mass, with consequent deterioration of 
      their daily activities and reduced quality of life. This is more pronounced in 
      elderly patients affected by chronic diseases such as chronic heart failure 
      (CHF). It has been demonstrated that oral amino acid (AA) supplementation 
      improves muscle protein metabolism. A recent study shows that use of oral 
      supplements with a special mixture of AAs for 12 weeks increases (1) 6-minute 
      walk distance (from 212.5 +/- 34 m to 268.8 +/- 34.9 m; p <0.001), (2) maximal 
      isometric muscular strength (from 14.6 +/- 2.2 kg to 20.2 +/- 2 kg; p <0.001), 
      and (3) peak exercise left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF 0.55 + 0.4 vs 0.67 
      + 0.7) (0.558 vs 0.67 +/- 0.7; p <0.01). In a pilot observational study, we 
      studied elderly patients with CHF who were clinically stable on standard therapy 
      (age range, 68-76 years; New York Heart Association (NYHA) class II-III; LVEF 
      <0.40; normal body mass index and arm muscle measurements; peak oxygen 
      consumption <15 mL/kg per min). After basal assessment of (1) cardiac function 
      (by 2-dimensional echocardiography), (2) 6-minute walk test, and (3) blood 
      variables, an AA mixture (4 g x 2 die) was orally administered to the patients 
      for 12 weeks in conjunction with standard therapies and a controlled diet. The AA 
      supplements increased 6-minute walk distance significantly (201 +/- 12 m vs 226 
      +/- 9 m; p < 0.05). Interestingly, urea values were unchanged (31.3 +/- 10.5 
      mg/dL vs 32.4 +/- 8.1 mg/dL; p = NS). Our results suggest the potential role of a 
      nonpharmacologic therapy with nutrients (ie, AAs) in an attempt to improve 
      muscular metabolism and function in elderly subjects and in hypercatabolic 
      syndromes such as CHF.
FAU - Scognamiglio, Roldano
AU  - Scognamiglio R
AD  - Metabolic Cardiology Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, 
      University of Padua, Padua, Italy. r.scognamiglio@unipd.it
FAU - Testa, Amidio
AU  - Testa A
FAU - Aquilani, Roberto
AU  - Aquilani R
FAU - Dioguardi, Francesco S
AU  - Dioguardi FS
FAU - Pasini, Evasio
AU  - Pasini E
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - United States
TA  - Am J Cardiol
JT  - The American journal of cardiology
JID - 0207277
RN  - 0 (Amino Acids)
SB  - IM
MH  - Aged
MH  - Amino Acids/*administration & dosage
MH  - *Dietary Supplements
MH  - Heart/*drug effects
MH  - Heart Failure/*physiopathology
MH  - Humans
MH  - Stroke Volume/drug effects
MH  - Ventricular Function, Left/*drug effects
MH  - *Walking
EDAT- 2008/07/02 09:00
MHDA- 2008/07/25 09:00
CRDT- 2008/07/02 09:00
PHST- 2008/07/02 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2008/07/25 09:00 [medline]
PHST- 2008/07/02 09:00 [entrez]
AID - S0002-9149(08)00400-1 [pii]
AID - 10.1016/j.amjcard.2008.03.005 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Am J Cardiol. 2008 Jun 2;101(11A):78E-81E. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2008.03.005.