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Assessing the Dose-response of Muscle Protein Synthesis to "Super-whey" in Older Adults

NCT05700058 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 30

Last updated 2026-05-01

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Skeletal muscle accounts for approximately 45-55% of total body mass in healthy adults and plays a pivotal role in whole-body metabolic health, locomotion and physical independence. Undesirable loss of skeletal muscle mass (atrophy) is, however, a common feature of many diseases and scenarios including ageing, bed rest/immobilisation, cancer and physical inactivity. Despite the exact mechanisms causing muscle atrophy being not yet fully understood, "anabolic resistance" (reduced muscle building in response to protein feeding and exercise) is thought to be key, especially for age-related skeletal muscle losses (known as sarcopenia). As such, the search for optimal strategies (e.g., exercise and/ or nutritional interventions) to combat this anabolic blunting remains a hot-topic in scientific research.

Leucine, an essential and branched chain amino acid (EAA/BCAA), is thought to be the most potent AA for stimulating muscle protein synthesis (MPS; the muscle building process). Although, as a stand-alone supplement, leucine is unlikely to provoke a robust and prolonged state of MPS, low doses of leucine-enriched mixed-EAAs can elicit similar increases in MPS as compared to a large dose of whey protein. As reduced appetite and increased satiety (feeling fuller) are common with advancing age, supplementation of a low-dose protein (i.e., leucine-enriched) that can adequately stimulate MPS may contribute to muscle health maintenance in older adults and reduce satiation following a meal.

This study aims to examine which of three doses of a novel leucine-enriched whey protein ("super-whey") best stimulates muscle building in older adults

Conditions

Interventions

OTHER

Dietary protein supplement

3 different doses of super-whey protein supplements will be given in a randomised crossover fashion to participants

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of Nottingham

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
65 Years
Max Age
85 Years
Sex
MALE
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2023-01-31
Primary Completion
2026-09-30
Completion
2026-10-31

Countries

  • United Kingdom

Study Locations

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Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT05700058 on ClinicalTrials.gov