Background: Sarcopenia is characterized by progressive loss of muscle mass, strength, and physical function, and often accompanies other diseases such as osteoarthritis (OA) ¹ . Both conditions are also significantly associated with poor quality of life (QoL).

Objectives: A randomized controlled study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of creatinine, glutamine and β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (HMB) supplementation in enhancing muscle mass and strength, physical function and QoL in adults with sarcopenia and knee OA.

Methods: Sixty-two patients aged 40 years and above with sarcopenia diagnosed according to the European Working Group on Sarcopenia and with knee OA according to the criteria of American College of Rheumatology were included in the study DIMMUS. The participants were randomly assigned into two groups of intervention (n=31) and control (n=31). The intervention group received oral nutritional supplementation daily plus standardized exercise programme for 12 weeks and the control group received only rescue analgesic medication and exercise training. Muscle mass (appendicular skeletal muscle mass index [ASMMI] estimated by the Baumgartner et al.’s equation), muscle strength (handgrip strength), physical function (4-m gait speed) and QoL (SARQoL) were measured before and after the 12-week intervention. Safety was also recorded by assessments of adverse events.

Results: There was no significant difference in baseline characteristics between the two groups (85.5% women, 63.5 ± 9.6 years, body mass index of 26.8 ± 4.5 kg/m ² , 83.9% Kellgren-Lawerence grade II OA and 91.9% mild sarcopenia). A statistically significant improvement in the mean change of ASMMI (3.7 ± 1.0 kg/m ² to 3.96 ± 1.1 kg/m ² ; P =0.0074), handgrip strength (18.8 ± 8.7 kg to 20.5 ± 8.5 kg, P =0.0089), and SARQoL score (59.3 ± 8.8 vs 70.7 ± 16.6; P =0,0003) from baseline to 12 weeks was observed for the intervention group but not for the control group. Both groups showed significant improvements on 4-m gait speed (5.0 ± 0.9 s to 4.4 ± 0.9 s in the intervention group; 5.2 ± 2.9 to 5.0 ± 2.3 m in the control group; P <0.001). One patient reported a treatment-related bad taste in the intervention group.

Conclusion: The findings of the present study demonstrated that the combined supplementation of creatinine, glutamine and HMB together with exercise training for 12 weeks may have a positive effect on the muscle mass and strength and QoL in adults with mild sarcopenia and OA. The results provide preliminary experiences and guidance for further clinical trials in both OA and sarcopenic patients.

REFERENCES:

[1] Kemmler W, Teschler M, Goisser S, Bebenek M, von Stengel S, Bollheimer LC,et al. Prevalence of sarcopenia in Germany and the corresponding effect of osteoarthritis in females 70 years and older living in the community: results of the FORMoSA study.Clin Interv Aging. 2015;10:1565-73.

Disclosure of Interests: None declared