Beta-alanine Supplementation and Its Effects on Performance, Muscle Carnosine Content and Safety in Athletes With Spinal-cord Injury

Spinal Cord Injuries Clinical Trial

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Not yet recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT02604927
• Other study ID #: B-Alanine Paraplegic Athletes
• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• First received: September 22, 2015
• Last updated: November 11, 2015
• Start date: February 2016
• Est. completion date: September 2017

Study information

• Verified date: November 2015
• Source: University of Sao Paulo
• Contact: Guilherme Artioli, PhD
• Phone: 55 11 30913096
• Email: artioli[@]usp.br
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: Brazil: National Committee of Ethics in Research
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Paralympians competing in wheelchair sports may experience a very high glycolytic demand (and therefore acidotic environment) in their upper-body muscles, particularly in high-intensity disciplines. Previous studies from our group have shown that upper-body exercise is very sensitive to the ergogenic effects of β-alanine supplementation and to other nutritional supplements capable of increasing buffering capacity. In line with this, have shown that upper-body muscle groups benefit more from artificially induced alkalosis than lower-body muscle groups. Although β-alanine appears to be an interesting and potential ergogenic supplement for paralympians, no study to date has assessed its potential in wheelchair athletes.In this study, we will evaluate the effects of β-alanine supplementation on upper-body performance in wheelchair athletes.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Enrollment: 20
• Est. completion date: September 2017
• Est. primary completion date: November 2016
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: Male
• Age group: 18 Years to 40 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Paralympian training for any exercise modality for at least one year;

• A weekly training volume of 6 hours or more;

• Have a spinal cord injury accompanied by loss of motor function in the lower limbs for at least one year;

• Available for carrying out the experimental procedures.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Use of creatine or beta-alanine for at least 3 and 6 months before the trial;

• Cardiovascular or respiratory disease;

• Clinical condition that result in malabsorption of nutrients;

• Any other medical condition that prevents the realization of experimental procedures.

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Double Blind (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Spinal Cord Injuries

Intervention

Dietary Supplement:
• Beta-alanine

• Dextrose

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Brazil	School of Physical Education and Sports, University of Sao Paulo	São Paulo

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Sao Paulo

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Brazil, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Exercise performance (Time to exhaustion test)	Time to exhaustion test performed on arm crank ergometer	28 days	No
Primary	Muscle carnosine content before and after supplementation	Assessed by muscle biopsy samples before performance tests	28 days	No
Secondary	Muscle carnosine content in trained (deltoid) vs. untrained (vastus lateralis) muscles	Deltoids microbiopsy and vastus lateralis biopsy	28 days	No
Secondary	Blood pH.	1 mL venous blood sample	5 minutes after performance tests	No
Secondary	Safety of beta-alanine supplementation measured by complete hemogram analysis		28 days	No