Nutritional Supplementation and Exercise as Essential Allies in the Treatment of Chronic Heart Failure: The Metabolic and Molecular Bases.

Chronic heart failure (CHF) is one of principal health problems in industrialized countries. Despite therapeutical improvement, based on drugs and exercise training, it is still characterized by elevated mortality and morbidity. Data show that protein energy malnutrition, clinically evident primarily with sarcopenia, is present in more than 50% of CHF patients and is an independent factor of CHF prognosis.

Influence of Diets with Varying Essential/Nonessential Amino Acid Ratios on Mouse Lifespan.

An adequate intake of essential (EAA) and non-essential amino acids (NEAA) is crucial to preserve cell integrity and whole-body metabolism. EAA introduced with diet may be insufficient to meet the organismal needs, especially under increased physiological requirements or in pathological conditions, and may condition lifespan. We therefore examined the effects of iso-caloric and providing the same nitrogenous content diets, any diet containing different stoichiometric blends of EAA/NEAA, on mouse lifespan.

Protein-Amino Acid Metabolism Disarrangements: The Hidden Enemy of Chronic Age-Related Conditions.

Proteins are macro-molecules crucial for cell life, which are made up of amino acids (AAs). In healthy people, protein synthesis and degradation are well balanced. However, in the presence of hypercatabolic stimulation (i.

Nutrition, Nitrogen Requirements, Exercise and Chemotherapy-Induced Toxicity in Cancer Patients. A puzzle of Contrasting Truths?

Amino acids can modulate cell metabolism and control cell fate by regulating cell survival and cell death. The molecular mechanisms involved are mediated by the mTOR complexes mTORC1 and mTORC2 activity. These complexes are finely regulated and the continuous advancement of the knowledge on their composition and function is revealing that their balance may represent the condition that determines the cell fate.

"The enemy within". How to identify chronic diseases induced-protein metabolism impairment and its possible pharmacological treatment.

Recent clinical and experimental data show that considerable impairment of protein metabolism occurs in patients with chronic diseases such as heart failure. However, too often the extent of impairment is under-estimated or ignored by most clinicians and no therapy is considered leading to progressive loss of body proteins, increase morbidity, hospital stay and mortality. This paper illustrates the possible biological markers to evaluate general protein metabolism, including quantification of related damage and possible improvement of the metabolism using specific therapeutical metabolic strategies recently studied in a clinical setting.

Supplementation of essential amino acids may reduce the occurrence of infections in rehabilitation patients with brain injury.

Background: To investigate whether supplementation with oral essential amino acids (EAAs) may reduce the occurrence of nosocomial infection among patients with brain injury (BI: stroke, trauma, anoxic coma).

Methods: Patients (n = 125; 77 men, 48 women; mean age 63 ± 15 years) with stroke (68.8%), subarachnoid hemorrhage (17.

Effect of essential amino acid supplementation on quality of life, amino acid profile and strength in institutionalized elderly patients.

Background & Aims: This study assessed the efficacy of supplemented essential amino acids on depressive symptoms, nutrition, muscle function, daily physical activity, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of institutionalized elderly patients.

Methods: Forty-one patients (58.5% women; mean age 79.

To give or not to give? Lessons from the arginine paradox.

Arginine is one of the 20 amino acids (AA) found in proteins and synthesized by human cells. However, arginine is also the substrate for a series of reactions leading to the synthesis of other AA and is an obligatory substrate for two enzymes with diverging actions, arginases and nitric oxide synthases (NOS), giving origin to urea and NO, respectively. NO is a very potent vasodilator when produced by endothelial NOS (eNOS).

A novel amino acids oral supplementation in hemodialysis patients: a pilot study.

Background: Protein malnutrition and lowering serum albumin is frequent in hemodialysis patients. A special amino acid formulation has recently been used with favorable effects in elderly people but no data exist in renal patients.

Aim: To assess the effects of this novel amino acid formulation in stable hemodialysis patients with reduced albumin levels.

Effects of oral amino acid supplementation on long-term-care-acquired infections in elderly patients.

The very high general infection rate (IRI) observed in our Geriatric Intensive Rehabilitation Center (GIRC) led us to investigate whether patient supplementation with essential amino acids (EAAs), modulators of immuno-competence, could reduce IRI. Eighty elderly patients admitted to our GIRC (n=40; age 79.5 ± 7.

Topical application of dressing with amino acids improves cutaneous wound healing in aged rats.

The principal goal in treating surgical and non-surgical wounds, in particular for aged skin, is the need for rapid closure of the lesion. Cutaneous wound healing processes involve four phases including an inflammatory response with the induction of pro-inflammatory cytokines. If inflammation develops in response to bacterial infection, it can create a problem for wound closure.

The role of amino acids in the modulation of cardiac metabolism during ischemia and heart failure.

During ischemia and heart failure, myocardial cells suffer for chronic energy starvation resulting in metabolic and contractile dysfunction. In normal conditions fatty acids, glucose, and lactate are the principal oxidative fuels in myocardium, while amino acids serve a minor role as an oxidative fuel. However, in pathological conditions, myocardial uptake of several amino acids increases significantly as a consequence of a metabolic remodelling.

Nutrition and skin. Collagen integrity: a dominant role for amino acids.

The skin is an important organ, and the need for attention to its metabolic requirements is often underestimated by professionals involved with its integrity and beauty. Amino acids are the indispensable nutritional basis for the maintenance of its integrity. The skin has very peculiar amino acid needs, which should be acknowledged and supplied if necessary.

Effects of voluntary wheel running and amino acid supplementation on skeletal muscle of mice.

The aims of the present study were as follows: (1) to examine the adaptational changes to chronic endurance voluntary exercise and (2) to investigate the effects of amino acid supplementation on the adaptational changes induced by endurance training in hindlimb (gastrocnemius, tibialis, soleus) and respiratory (diaphragm) muscles of mice. Male C57Bl6 mice were divided in four groups: control sedentary, sedentary supplemented with amino acid mixture (BigOne, 1.5 mg g day(-1) in drinking water for 8 weeks), running (free access to running wheels for 8 weeks), and running supplemented with amino acid mixture.

Effects of oral amino acid supplementation on myocardial function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Background: Diabetes mellitus is associated with an increased rate of cardiac amino acid catabolism that could interfere with cardiac function.

Methods: We assessed the effects of an oral amino acids mixture (AAM) on myocardial function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2). We studied 65 consecutive patients with DM2 who had normal resting left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and did not have obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD).

Malnutrition, muscle wasting and cachexia in chronic heart failure: the nutritional approach.

Malnutrition, muscle wasting and cachexia are often present in chronic heart failure (CHF). However, malnutrition in CHF patients is not always as severe as muscle wasting. Data in the literature show that 24% of CHF patients have malnutrition (albumin < 3.