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A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Sports Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2022) | Viewed by 10591

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Dr. Barbara Wessner

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Institute of Sport Science & Research Platform Active Ageing, University of Vienna, Auf der Schmelz 6, A-1150 Vienna, Austria
Interests: muscle physiology; sports nutrition; exercise immunology; healthy aging
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Dear Colleagues,

Development but also maintenance of skeletal muscle mass and function is characterized by continuous muscular remodeling involving protein synthesis (anabolism) and degradation (catabolism). Especially in old age and illness, the modulation of these processes by nutrients and exercise has gains great importance. Although this topic has been addressed scientifically many times, there is still a lack of knowledge to efficiently intervene and maintain musculoskeletal health over the lifespan. Therefore, we are especially interested in state-of-the-art original research articles, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses that address the impact of nutrients on muscle protein metabolism. Thereby, the focus can be on specific food ingredients, supplements, or habitual diet. Muscular outcomes shall include molecular, physiological, and functional data but may also include imaging or histological techniques involving humans and animal and cell culture models. Articles dealing with interactions of various cell types, tissues, and organs (i.e., immune muscle or connective tissue muscle) are highly welcome.

Dr. Barbara Wessner
Guest Editor

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Keywords

skeletal muscle
protein turnover
aging
exercise

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 451 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Protein and Leucine Intake at Main Meals in Elderly People with Type 2 Diabetes

by Elena Massimino, Anna Izzo, Carmen Castaldo, Anna Paola Amoroso, Angela Albarosa Rivellese, Brunella Capaldo and Giuseppe Della Pepa

Nutrients 2023, 15(6), 1345; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu15061345 - 10 Mar 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2036

Abstract

Background: The recommended protein intake for the elderly is 25–30 g at main meals, with at least 2500–2800 mg of leucine at each meal. There is still little evidence regarding the amount and distribution of protein and leucine intake with meals in the elderly with type 2 diabetes (T2D). In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated protein and leucine intake at each meal in elderly patients with T2D. Methods: A total of 138 patients (91 men and 47 women) with T2D, aged 65 years or older, were included. Participants performed three 24-h dietary recalls for the evaluation of their dietary habits and protein and leucine intake at meals. Results: The average protein intake was 0.9 ± 0.2 g/kg body weight/day, and only 23% of patients complied with the recommendations. The average protein intake was 6.9 g at breakfast, 29 g at lunch, and 21 g at dinner. None of the patients reached the recommended protein intake at breakfast; 59% of patients complied with the recommendations at lunch; and 32% at dinner. The average leucine intake was 579 mg at breakfast, 2195 g at lunch, and 1583 mg at dinner. The recommended leucine intake was not reached by any patient at breakfast, by 29% of patients at lunch, and by 13% at dinner. Conclusions: Our data show that, in elderly patients with T2D, the average protein intake is low, particularly at breakfast and dinner, and that leucine intake is remarkably lower than the recommended levels. These data raise the need to implement nutritional strategies capable of increasing protein and leucine intake in the elderly with T2D. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Protein Metabolism and Musculoskeletal Health)

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17 pages, 3152 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Use of Post-Natal Skeleton Development as Sensitive Preclinical Model to Test the Quality of Alternative Protein Sources in the Diet

by Astar Shitrit-Tovli, Roni Sides, Rotem Kalev-Altman, Dana Meilich, Gal Becker, Svetlana Penn, Ron Shahar and Efrat Monsonego Ornan

Nutrients 2022, 14(18), 3769; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu14183769 - 13 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1416

Abstract

Dietary protein is necessary throughout all life stages. Adequate intake of protein during juvenile years is essential to enable appropriate synthesis of bone matrix and achieve the full peak bone mass (PBM). Due to socio-demographic changes, accompanied by environmental damage and ethical problems, a transition to the consumption of different and alternative protein sources in the human diet must occur. This transition requires the precise evaluation of protein quality. Here, we utilize a preclinical model of young rats during their post-natal developmental period to define the nutritive quality of a number of alternative protein sources (soy, spirulina, chickpea, and fly larvae) by their health impact on growth performance and skeletal development. We indicate that when restricted (10% of calories) not one of the tested alternative protein sources have succeeded in causing optimal growth, as compared to the referenced source, casein; yet fly larvae protein followed by chickpea flour were found to be superior to the rest. Growth-plate histology and µ-CT analyses demonstrated a number of changes in growth patterns and bone morphometric parameters. Bone mechanical testing, by three-point bending analyses, was sensitive in demonstrating the effect of the reduction in the amount of the dietary protein. Moreover, the rats’ weight and length, as well as their eating patterns, were found to reflect the proteins’ quality better than their amino acid composition. Hence, our study emphasizes the importance of evaluating protein as a whole food source, and suggests a new approach for this purpose. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Protein Metabolism and Musculoskeletal Health)

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10 pages, 1550 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Panax ginseng Berry Extract and Soluble Whey Protein Hydrolysate Mixture Ameliorates Sarcopenia-Related Muscular Deterioration in Aged Mice

by Min-Ji Han, Seok-Jun Park, Sang-Jun Lee and Se-Young Choung

Nutrients 2022, 14(4), 799; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu14040799 - 14 Feb 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2770

Abstract

Sarcopenia is prevalent as the aging population grows. Therefore, the need for supplements for the elderly is increasing. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and mechanism of a Panax ginseng berry extract (GBE) and soluble whey protein hydrolysate (WPH) mixture on a sarcopenia-related muscular deterioration in aged mice. Ten-month-old male C57BL/6J mice were administered three different doses of the GBE + WPH mixture for 8 weeks; 700 mg/kg, 900 mg/kg, and 1100 mg/kg. Grip strength, serum inflammatory cytokines level, and mass of muscle tissues were estimated. The deteriorating function of aging muscle was investigated via protein or gene expression. Grip strength and mass of three muscle tissues were increased significantly in a dose-dependent manner, and increased anti-inflammatory cytokine alleviated systemic inflammatory state. The mixture resolved the imbalance of muscle protein turnover through activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway and increased gene expression of the muscle regeneration-related factors, while decreasing myostatin, which interferes with muscle protein synthesis and regeneration. Furthermore, we confirmed that increased mitochondria number in muscle with the improvement of mitochondrial biogenesis. These physiological changes were similar to the effects of exercise. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Protein Metabolism and Musculoskeletal Health)

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11 pages, 1570 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Machine Learning-Based Screening Test for Sarcopenic Dysphagia Using Image Recognition

by Kotomi Sakai, Stuart Gilmour, Eri Hoshino, Enri Nakayama, Ryo Momosaki, Nobuo Sakata and Daisuke Yoneoka

Nutrients 2021, 13(11), 4009; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu13114009 - 10 Nov 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3719

Abstract

Background: Sarcopenic dysphagia, a swallowing disorder caused by sarcopenia, is prevalent in older patients and can cause malnutrition and aspiration pneumonia. This study aimed to develop a simple screening test using image recognition with a low risk of droplet transmission for sarcopenic dysphagia. Methods: Older patients admitted to a post-acute care hospital were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. As a main variable for the development of a screening test, we photographed the anterior neck to analyze the image features of sarcopenic dysphagia. The studied image features included the pixel values and the number of feature points. We constructed screening models using the image features, age, sex, and body mass index. The prediction performance of each model was investigated. Results: A total of 308 patients participated, including 175 (56.82%) patients without dysphagia and 133 (43.18%) with sarcopenic dysphagia. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC-AUC), sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and area under the precision-recall curve (PR-AUC) values of the best model were 0.877, 87.50%, 76.67%, 66.67%, 92.00%, and 0.838, respectively. The model with image features alone showed an ROC-AUC of 0.814 and PR-AUC of 0.726. Conclusions: The screening test for sarcopenic dysphagia using image recognition of neck appearance had high prediction performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Protein Metabolism and Musculoskeletal Health)

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