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

November 11, 2015 updated by: Bruno Gualano, University of Sao Paulo
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.

Study Overview

Status

Unknown

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

20

Phase

  • 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 Locations

  • Brazil
      • São Paulo, Brazil, 05508-030
        • School of Physical Education and Sports, University of Sao Paulo

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 40 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Male

Description

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 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

  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
800 mg of dextrose, four times per day, during 28 days.
Dietary supplement: Dextrose
Experimental: Beta-alanine
800 mg of beta-alanine, four times per day, during 28 days.
Dietary supplement: Beta-alanine

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Exercise performance (Time to exhaustion test)
Time Frame: 28 days
Time to exhaustion test performed on arm crank ergometer
28 days
Muscle carnosine content before and after supplementation
Time Frame: 28 days
Assessed by muscle biopsy samples before performance tests
28 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Muscle carnosine content in trained (deltoid) vs. untrained (vastus lateralis) muscles
Time Frame: 28 days
Deltoids microbiopsy and vastus lateralis biopsy
28 days
Blood pH.
Time Frame: 5 minutes after performance tests
1 mL venous blood sample
5 minutes after performance tests
Safety of beta-alanine supplementation measured by complete hemogram analysis
Time Frame: 28 days
28 days

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Sao Paulo

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

February 1, 2016

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

November 1, 2016

Study Completion (Anticipated)

September 1, 2017

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 22, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 11, 2015

First Posted (Estimate)

November 16, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

November 16, 2015

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 11, 2015

Last Verified

November 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • B-Alanine Paraplegic Athletes

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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