A specific protein-enriched enteral formula decreases cortisolemia and improves plasma albumin and amino acid concentrations in elderly patients Olza Meneses, Josune Mesa García, María Dolores Poyatos Martínez, Rafael Miguel Aguilera García, Concepción María Moreno-Torres, Rosario Pérez, Milagros Pérez De La Cruz, Antonio Jesús Gil Hernández, Ángel Muscle mass Performance Ingestion Men Strength Hormones Humans Women Age [Background] Old age is associated with an involuntary and progressive but physiological loss of muscle mass. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of exclusive consumption for 6 months of a protein-enriched enteral diet with a relatively high content of branched-chain amino acids on albuminemia, cortisolemia, plasma amino acids, insulin resistance, and inflammation biomarkers in elderly patients. [Methods] Thirty-two patients from the Clinical Nutrition Outpatient Unit at our hospital exclusively consumed a protein-enriched enteral diet for 6 months. Data were collected at baseline and at 3 and 6 months on anthropometric and biochemical parameters and on plasma concentrations of amino acids, cortisol, adrenocorticotropic hormone, urea, creatinine, insulin resistance, and inflammation biomarkers. [Results] The percentage of patients with albumin concentration below normal cut-off values decreased from 18% to 0% by the end of the study. At 6 months, concentrations of total plasma (p = 0.008) and essential amino acids (p = 0.011), especially branched-chain amino acids (p = 0.031), were higher versus baseline values, whereas 3-methylhistidine (p = 0.001), cortisol (p = 0.001) and adrenocorticotropic hormone (p = 0.004) levels were lower. [Conclusions] Regular intake of specific protein-enriched enteral formula increases plasma essential amino acids, especially branched-chain amino acids, and decreases cortisol and 3-methylhistidine, while plasma urea and creatinine remain unchanged. 2014-06-27T13:14:38Z 2014-06-27T13:14:38Z 2010 info:eu-repo/semantics/article Olza, J.; et al. A specific protein-enriched enteral formula decreases cortisolemia and improves plasma albumin and amino acid concentrations in elderly patients. Nutrition and Metabolism, 7: 58 (2010). [http://hdl.handle.net/10481/32398] 1743-7075 http://hdl.handle.net/10481/32398 10.1186/1743-7075-7-58 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License Biomed Central