Subjects
stroke, allergy, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, neurological diseases, gait impairment
NEUROLOGICAL DISEASE, INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE, AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS, DISEASE, ALLERGY, UNSTABLE ANGINA, STROKE, HYPERTROPHIC CARDIOMYOPATHY, MYASTHENIA GRAVIS, HEART VALVE DISEASE, S; HEMOGLOBIN
This was a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study, conducted at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. The study was approved by IRB# 206,313. Sixty subjects were randomized to either EAAs or whey over a 12-week period. Inclusion criteria were age ≥ 65, both genders, and inclusive of all races and ethnicities as described [Characteristics of the subjects of EAA and whey protein groupsThe following were included in the exclusion criteria: hemoglobin < 10 g/dL; eGFR < 30; hemoglobin A1c ≥ 10; allergy to milk or soy products; inability to perform strength and/or functional assessments; moderate to severe heart valve disease; myocardial infarction in the past 6 months; infiltrative, restrictive, or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy; unstable angina; dementia, as determined by a SLUMS score of < 20; active inflammatory bowel disease; having received chemotherapy or radiation therapy within the past 12 months; currently undergoing tube feeding; currently receiving palliative care for end-of-life circumstance; and those who were not willing to refrain from using non-study protein/amino acid supplements during their participation in this study. In addition, potential subjects with any disease that specifically impaired functional capacity were excluded, such as moderate hypothyroidism, Parkinson’s disease, major anxiety/depression, myasthenia gravis, and neurological diseases that cause gait impairment (e.g., amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, stroke). A total of 60 subjects participated in the trial but plasma for SOMAscan analysis was obtained from 20 subjects on whey and 16 subjects on EAAs. SOMAscan is a highly multiplexed, sensitive platform that uses modified DNA aptamers as high affinity protein capture reagents to simultaneously quantify more than 1300 human proteins in plasma [