Clinical trial NCT03111979: The Effects of 4 Week β-alanine Supplementation on Knee Extensor Contractile and Force Properties in the Over 60s
Official title: The Effects of 4 Week β-alanine Supplementation on Knee Extensor Contractile and Force Properties in the Over 60s
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: SUSPENDED
Phase: PHASE4
Conditions: Muscle Function
Keywords: beta-alanine
Carnosine
Neuromuscular
Stimulation
Skeletal muscle
Lead sponsor: Nottingham Trent University
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2017-04-13
Enrollment: 24
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 60
Maximum age (years): 80
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE

Brief summary: The older population is the fastest growing age group worldwide, but it is also the most susceptible to chronic diseases and disabilities. One of the most common negative consequences of aging is the decline in muscle mass, strength and power. This is most notable in lower limb muscles. These muscles are required for the performance of daily activities including walking, stair climbing and standing up from sitting. Regular exercise is considered one of the most effective measures to slow, and even reverse the progression of muscle weakness. Nevertheless older adults may notice a decline in their capability to undertake regular exercises, this may be due to a decline in their muscle's ability to buffer pH. Carnosine (made by bonding β-alanine and histidine) has been suggested to contribute to the extension of physical performance, counteracting the decline the muscle's ability to buffer pH. Yet this pH buffering process it largely restricted by the amount of β-alanine available in the human body. β-alanine is already known to decline in older individuals due to a reduction in food products (meat, fish and poultry). Yet through either consumption of β-alanine rich food, or through short-term supplementation, β-alanine is raised, increasing carnosine concentrations. Improved β-alanine levels can potentially advance exercise performance, for example significant improvements in time to exhaustion on both a constant (37%) and incremental (12%) treadmill tests have been demonstrated. It is therefore proposed that via β-alanine supplementation, an individual's perception of their frailty, maintenance of health and independent living can be improved in older individuals.

However, these findings are based on participants, both young and older, who are well-rested with no prior exercise or fatigue to the assessed muscles. It remains unclear if β-alanine supplementation will aid in the buffering of pH when the muscle has already been fatigued. Therefore this investigation hopes to examine the effects of 4 week β-alanine supplementation on lower limb contractile and force properties, pre and post muscle specific fatigue.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* All participants will be defined as 'medically stable' for exercise studies, as proposed by Grieg et al. (1994). This criteria was designed both for safety and to define degrees of freedom from diseases which might alter exercise performance (Greig et al., 1994).

Exclusion Criteria:

* Participants will be excluded if they are vegetarian/vegan or have been using β-alanine or creatine supplements within the past 6 months. They will also be excluded if they have participated in a resistance training programme in the last 6 months. These criteria will apply throughout the whole study, with any participants immediately excluded from the study if any of these medical conditions should arise.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Half relaxation time
timeFrame: 4 weeks
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Force frequency relationship
timeFrame: 4 weeks
measure: Time to peak tension
timeFrame: 4 weeks
measure: Electromechanical delay
timeFrame: 4 weeks
measure: Maximal voluntary force production
timeFrame: 4 weeks
measure: Explosive voluntary force production
timeFrame: 4 weeks
Other outcomes:
Locations:
Study officials:
References:
citation: Sale C, Saunders B, Harris RC. Effect of beta-alanine supplementation on muscle carnosine concentrations and exercise performance. Amino Acids. 2010 Jul;39(2):321-33. doi: 10.1007/s00726-009-0443-4. Epub 2009 Dec 20.
citation: Sale C, Artioli GG, Gualano B, Saunders B, Hobson RM, Harris RC. Carnosine: from exercise performance to health. Amino Acids. 2013 Jun;44(6):1477-91. doi: 10.1007/s00726-013-1476-2. Epub 2013 Mar 12.
citation: Harris RC, Sale C. Beta-alanine supplementation in high-intensity exercise. Med Sport Sci. 2012;59:1-17. doi: 10.1159/000342372. Epub 2012 Oct 15.
citation: Artioli GG, Gualano B, Smith A, Stout J, Lancha AH Jr. Role of beta-alanine supplementation on muscle carnosine and exercise performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2010 Jun;42(6):1162-73. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181c74e38.