Journal article

Long-term leucine supplementation does not increase muscle mass or strength in healthy elderly men

Suzanne Verhoeven, Kristof Vanschoonbeek, Lex B Verdijk, Rene Koopman, Will KWH Wodzig, Paul Dendale, Luc JC van Loon

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NUTRITION | OXFORD UNIV PRESS | Published : 2009

Abstract

BACKGROUND: It has been reported that the blunted muscle protein synthetic response to food intake in the elderly can be normalized by increasing the leucine content of a meal. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to assess the effect of 3 mo of leucine supplementation on muscle mass and strength in healthy elderly men. DESIGN: Thirty healthy elderly men with a mean (+/-SEM) age of 71 +/- 4 y and body mass index (BMI; in kg/m(2)) of 26.1 +/- 0.5 were randomly assigned to either a placebo-supplemented (n = 15) or leucine-supplemented (n = 15) group. Leucine or placebo (2.5 g) was administered with each main meal during a 3-mo intervention period. Whole-body insulin sensitivity, muscle strength (one-r..

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University of Melbourne Researchers