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Effects of branched-chain amino acid supplementation and resistance training in postmenopausal women.

Experimental gerontology
February 1, 2021
Reza Bagheri et al. (4 authors)
Journal ArticleRandomized Controlled TrialHuman StudyClinical
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to determine whether combining BCAA supplementation with resistance training enhances muscle mass, strength, and regulatory factors in postmenopausal women compared to resistance training alone.

Results Summary

Resistance training significantly increased muscle mass, strength, and IGF-1 while decreasing myostatin in postmenopausal women, but BCAA supplementation did not further enhance these effects. Follistatin increased only in the BCAA group, but no differences were found between RT conditions over time.

Population

Postmenopausal women (n=30)

Effective Dosage

BCAA group received 9 g/day

Duration

8 weeks

Interactions

None mentioned

Extracted Claims (13)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
Resistance training (RT)
increase
muscle mass and strength
postmenopausal women
-
has been shown to increase
#1
Branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) supplementation
increase
myofibrillar protein synthesis (MPS)
-
-
acutely increases
#2
Branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) supplementation
decrease
muscle soreness
-
-
decreases
#3
RT and placebo (PLA)
increase
muscle mass and strength
postmenopausal women
-
significant increases
#4
RT and BCAA
increase
muscle mass and strength
postmenopausal women
-
significant increases
#5
RT and placebo (PLA)
decrease
myostatin
postmenopausal women
-
significantly decreased
#6
RT and BCAA
decrease
myostatin
postmenopausal women
-
significantly decreased
#7
RT and placebo (PLA)
increase
insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1)
postmenopausal women
-
increased
#8
RT and BCAA
increase
insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1)
postmenopausal women
-
increased
#9
RT and BCAA
increase
follistatin
postmenopausal women
-
significantly increased
#10
control (CON)
no change
any variable
postmenopausal women
-
no changes
#11
Short-term (8 weeks) RT
increase
muscle mass, strength, and muscle regulatory factors
postmenopausal women
-
is an effective intervention for improving
#12
BCAA supplementation
no change
these physiological changes
postmenopausal women
-
failed to augment
#13
Abstract

BACKGROUND: The age-related loss in muscular function is typically accelerated after menopause. Resistance training (RT) has been shown to increase muscle mass and strength in postmenopausal women. Branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) supplementation acutely increases myofibrillar protein synthesis (MPS) and decreases muscle soreness following RT. However, the combined effects of BCAA supplementation and RT on muscle mass, strength, and regulatory factors on postmenopausal cohorts are currently unknown. The purpose of this study was to explore the combined effects of BCAA supplementation and RT on muscle mass, strength, and regulatory factors in postmenopausal women. METHODS: Thirty postmenopausal women were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: RT and placebo (PLA; n = 10), RT and BCAA (BCAA; 9 g/day; n = 10), or control (CON; n = 10). Muscle mass, strength, and serum concentrations of muscle regulatory factors (myostatin, follistatin, and insulin-like growth factor-1 [IGF-1]) were assessed before and following 8 weeks of whole-body supervised RT (3×/week, 3-4 sets using 60-75% 1-repetition maximum [1-RM]). RESULTS: There were significant increases (P < 0.05) in muscle mass and strength in both the PLA and BCAA conditions. Additionally, myostatin significantly (P < 0.05) decreased, while IGF-1 (P < 0.05) increased following PLA and BCAA. However, follistatin significantly increased in the BCAA condition. There were no differences between RT conditions over time. Furthermore, there were no changes in any variable after CON. CONCLUSIONS: Short-term (8 weeks) RT is an effective intervention for improving muscle mass, strength, and muscle regulatory factors in postmenopausal women. The addition of BCAA supplementation to RT failed to augment these physiological changes.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Amino Acids, Branched-ChainDietary SupplementsFemaleHumansMuscle StrengthMuscle, SkeletalPostmenopauseResistance Training
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy85/10
Quality80/10
Citation Metrics
Total Citations8
Citations/Year2.0
Relative Citation Ratio0.98
NIH Percentile49.4%
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.50
Weight Score2.43
Normalized Score0.70
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