文摘
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Summary
Background
Loss of muscle mass due to prolonged bed rest decreases functional capacity and increases hospital morbidity and mortality in older adults.Objective
<p>To determine if HMB, a leucine metabolite, is capable of attenuating muscle decline in healthy older adults during complete bed rest.Design
<p>A randomized, controlled, double-blinded, parallel-group design study was carried out in 24 healthy (SPPB?¡Ý?9) older adult subjects (20 women, 4 men), confined to complete bed rest for ten days, followed by resistance training rehabilitation for eight weeks. Subjects in the experimental group were treated with HMB (calcium salt, 1.5?g twice daily - total 3?g/day). Control subjects were treated with an inactive placebo powder. Treatments were provided starting 5 days prior to bed rest till the end rehabilitation phase. DXA was used to measure body composition.Results
<p>Nineteen eligible older adults (BMI: 21-33; age: 60-76?year) were evaluable at the end of the bed rest period (Control n?=?8; Ca-HMB n?=?11). Bed rest caused a significant decrease in total lean body mass (LBM) (2.05?¡À?0.66?kg; p?=?0.02, paired t-test) in the Control group. With the exclusion of one subject, treatment with HMB prevented the decline in LBM over bed rest ?0.17?¡À?0.19?kg; p?=?0.23, paired t-test). There was a statistically significant difference between treatment groups for change in LBM over bed rest (p?=?0.02, ANOVA). Sub-analysis on female subjects (Control?=?7, HMB?=?8) also revealed a significant difference in change in LBM over bed rest between treatment groups (p?=?0.04, ANOVA). However, differences in function parameters could not be observed, probably due to the sample size of the study.Conclusions
<p>In healthy older adults, HMB supplementation preserves muscle mass during 10 days of bed rest. These results need to be confirmed in a larger trial.<p>This trial is registered at under NCT00945581.
