Effects of essential amino acid (EAA) and glutamine supplementation on skeletal muscle wasting in acute, subacute, and postacute conditions

Abstract

Under optimal physiological conditions, muscle mass maintenance is ensured by dietary protein, which balances the amino acid loss during the post-absorption period and preserves the body's protein homeostasis. Conversely, in critical clinical conditions (acute, subacute or postacute), particularly those related to hypomobility or immobility, combined with malnutrition, and local/systemic inflammation, the loss of muscle mass and strength can be quantitatively significant. A decline of more than 1% in muscle mass and of more than 3% in muscle strength has been registered in subjects with aged 20-37 yr after just five days of bed rest, similarly to those observed during one year of age-related decline in individuals over the age of 50. Loss of muscle mass and strength can have a dramatic effect on subjects' functional capacities, on their systemic metabolic control and on the amino acid reserve function, all of which are fundamental for the maintenance of other organs' and tissues' cell processes. References available indicate that the average 1%-2% reduction per day of muscle mass in patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) could represent an independent predictor of hospital mortality and physical disability in the five years following hospitalization. After just a few days or weeks of administration, supplementation with EAAs and glutamine has shown significant effects in maintaining muscle size and strength, which are typically negatively affected by some acute/subacute or postacute critical conditions (muscle recovery after surgery, oncology patients, ICU treatments), especially in the elderly or in those with pre-existing degenerative diseases. In this review, we focused on the theoretical bases and the most relevant clinical studies of EAA and glutamine supplementation as a single compound, with the aim of clarifying whether their combined use in a blend (EAAs-glutamine) could be potentially synergistic to prevent disease-related muscle wasting and its impact on the duration and quality of patients' clinical course.

Keywords: Cancer cachexia; Essential amino acids; Glutamine; Intensive care unit; Malnutrition; Muscle recovery.