HMB Enriched Amino Acids to Reverse Muscle Loss in Cirrhosis

September 23, 2026 updated by: Srinivasan Dasarathy, The Cleveland Clinic

Loss of skeletal muscle mass or sarcopenia is the most common and potentially reversible complication in cirrhosis that increases morbidity and mortality before, during and after liver transplantation. No proven treatments exist for the prevention or reversal of sarcopenia in cirrhosis, primarily because the mechanisms responsible for this are unknown. Based on compelling preliminary studies and those of the co investigator, investigators hypothesize that the mechanism of reduced skeletal muscle mass in cirrhosis is due to a myostatin mediated impaired mTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin) signaling resulting in reduced protein synthesis and increased autophagy. Investigators further postulate that leucine, a direct stimulant of mTOR, will reverse the impaired mTOR phosphorylation in the skeletal muscle of cirrhotics. The consequent increase in protein synthesis reduced autophagy will result in an increase in skeletal muscle mass. Investigators will test these hypotheses by quantifying the response to acute and long term (3 month) administration of hydroxymethyl butyrate (HMB) enriched essential amino acid compared with an isonitrogenous isocaloric non-essential balanced amino acid mixture (does not stimulate protein synthesis) in cirrhotic patients. Fractional protein synthesis rate (FSR) in skeletal muscle, responses of the molecular regulatory pathways of skeletal muscle protein synthesis, and autophagy flux will be quantified in the acute and long term protocols. Tracer studies using L-[D5]-phenylalanine (Phe) as a primed constant infusion (prime 2µmol.kg-1.hr-1; constant 0.05 µmol.kg-1.hr-1) with and L [ring-D2] tyrosine, forearm plethysmography, and sequential skeletal muscle biopsies (total of 3 per study subject) will be used to quantify these outcomes. Anthropometric, clinical and body composition measures will be additional outcome measures for the long term intervention. Expression of regulatory signaling proteins, myostatin, IGF-1 (insulin like growth factor) , phospho-Akt, phospho-AMPK (activated protein kinase), phospho-mTOR and phospho-p70s6k will be quantified by Western immunoblots. Autophagy flux will be measured by quantifying expression of the autophagosome proteins.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
24

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Ohio
      • Cleveland, Ohio, United States, 44195
        • Recruiting
        • Cleveland Clinic
        • Contact:
          • Annette Bellar

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

21 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosis of cirrhosis of the liver
  • Child-Pugh score of 5-8

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Recent gastrointestinal bleeding (<3m)
  • Active infection
  • Overt encephalopathy
  • Renal failure on dialysis
  • Pedal edema
  • Uncontrolled diabetes (HbA1C > 7.9mg/dL)
  • Advanced cardiac, lung, kidney disease
  • Metastatic cancer
  • Medications that alter muscle protein metabolism
  • Pregnancy
  • Recent bowel resection or gastric bypass surgery,
  • INR >1.7, platelets <60,000/ml, serum creatinine >2mg/dL
  • Medications that interfere with blood clotting

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Hydroxy Methyl Butyrate
Dietary supplement: Hydroxy Methyl Butyrate

Hydroxy Methyl Butyrate
Other: Balanced Amino Acid Mixture
Dietary supplement: Balanced Amino Acids

Balanced Amino Acids

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Fractional Synthesis Rate of Skeletal Muscle
Time Frame: Day 0 to Day 90

To test whether fractional synthesis of skeletal muscle proteins changes from baseline to 90 days with the administration of BAA or EAA/LEU. Fractional synthesis rate (FSR) of mixed muscle proteins will be calculated from the incorporation rate of the L- [ring D5] phenylalanine into the proteins and the free tissue phenylalanine enrichments using precursor product model: FSR= (∆Ep/t)/(∆Ec) x60x100 and expressed as %/hour. ΔEp is the increment in myofibrillar protein-bound L- [ring D5] phenylalanine enrichment, t is the time between the muscle biopsies. ∆Ec is the L- [ring D5] phenylalanine enrichments in the free intracellular pool in the muscle biopsies.
Day 0 to Day 90

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
The Cleveland Clinic

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
November 30, 2021

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 30, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 30, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
December 8, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 8, 2021

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
December 22, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 28, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 23, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 21-830

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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