EAA Intake to Optimize Protein Anabolism in COPD
Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT01173354. Field values are reproduced from the official study page; the official ClinicalTrials.gov record remains the source of truth for eligibility, enrollment, and contact information.
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Official title
Essential Amino Acid Intake to Optimize Protein Anabolism in Elderly COPD Patients
Brief summary
Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.
Weight loss commonly occurs in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), negatively influencing their quality of life, treatment response and survival. Loss of muscle protein is generally a central component of weight loss in COPD patients. Attempts to reverse muscle loss in COPD by supplying large amounts of protein or calories to these patients have been unsuccessful. Gains in muscle mass are difficult to achieve in COPD unless specific metabolic abnormalities are targeted. The investigators recently observed that alterations in protein metabolism are present in normal weight COPD patients. Elevated levels of protein synthesis and breakdown rates were found in this COPD group indicating that alterations are already present before muscle wasting occurs. Furthermore, reduced plasma essential amino acid (EAA) levels were observed in COPD patients. These reduced EAA plasma levels were significantly related with the presence of muscle wasting in COPD. Until now, limited research has been done examining protein metabolism and the response to feeding in patients with COPD. Previous studies support the concept of essential amino acids (EAA) as an anabolic stimulus in the young and elderly and in insulin resistant states. Until yet no information is present on the anabolic effects of EAA in elderly COPD patients. It is therefore our hypothesis that a high-leucine essential amino acids mixture specifically designed to stimulate protein anabolism will target the metabolic alterations of COPD patients. In the present study, the acute effects of an EAA nutritional supplement on whole body, muscle and liver protein metabolism will be examined in COPD patients and compared to a supplement consisting of a balanced mixture of total amino acids. The principal endpoints will be the extent of stimulation of whole body protein synthesis as this is the principal mechanism by which either amino acid or protein intake causes muscle anabolism, and the reduction in endogenous protein breakdown. Both endpoints will be assessed by isotope methodology which is thought to be the reference method.
Study identification
- NCT ID
- NCT01173354
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Not applicable
- Enrollment
- 34 participants
Conditions and interventions
Conditions
Interventions
- Free balanced amino acid mixture Dietary Supplement
- Free essential amino acid mixture Dietary Supplement
Dietary Supplement
Eligibility (public fields only)
- Age range
- 45 Years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Healthy volunteers not accepted
This page does not interpret eligibility. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are on the official ClinicalTrials.gov record.
Study timeline
- Start date
- Sep 7, 2009
- Primary completion
- Feb 16, 2012
- Completion
- Feb 16, 2012
- Last update posted
- Sep 29, 2025
2009 – 2012
United States locations
- U.S. sites
- 1
- U.S. states
- 1
- U.S. cities
- 1
| Facility | City | State | ZIP | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences | Little Rock | Arkansas | 72205 | — |
Site contact phone numbers, emails, and investigator names are intentionally not displayed here. Open the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for site contact information.
About this trial record page
- What this page shows
- Public field values for ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT01173354, including study identification, conditions, interventions, eligibility (age, sex, healthy volunteer), timeline, and U.S. site list.
- What this page does not do
- No medical advice, eligibility judgments, treatment recommendations, study quality scoring, or AI-generated medical summaries. No site contact phone numbers, emails, or investigator names.
- Where the data comes from
- Sourced from the official ClinicalTrials.gov public API. The official record is the source of truth.
- Last refresh
- Last update posted Sep 29, 2025 · Synced Sep 2, 2026
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Open the official record
The complete protocol, eligibility criteria, and contact information for NCT01173354 live on ClinicalTrials.gov.