Increasing Mitochondrial Function on Skeletal Muscle Performance in Older Men (Rejuvenate)

NHS Foundation Trust

Status: Completed

Conditions: Impaired Mitochondrial Function, Muscle Performance

Treatments: Dietary Supplement: placebo; Dietary Supplement: Acipimox

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02792621

R&D no 1608287

Details and patient eligibility

About

As people grow older skeletal muscle gradually becomes smaller and weaker, causing reduced mobility and quality of life. To understand and reverse this negative process investigators need to find new ways of improving the ability of muscle to perform physical activity. There is some evidence that supplements may improve how the mitochondria work, and investigators want to explore this idea in more detail, by measuring how the muscles work and respond to exercise before and after taking the supplement. This will give us the basic information investigators would need to see if this is a useful idea.

Full description

A defining feature of ageing is loss of muscle mass ('sarcopenia') and associated functional weakness ('dynapenia'). A common characteristic of dynapenia is lowered mitochondrial content and metabolic function, causing reduced aerobic capacity, increased sensations of effort and impaired lipid oxidation (with resultant glucose intolerance). Exercise training improves mitochondrial and muscle function in ageing populations, however such adaptations remain below that of young counterparts, suggesting alternative approaches are required. Pre-clinical studies show that dietary supplementation with precursors of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) restore mitochondrial biogenesis and oxidative capacity in ageing rodents and diabetic humans. However, whether NAD+ precursors rejuvenate mitochondrial capacity and, ultimately, muscle function in older humans is unknown. This pilot project will therefore investigate the efficacy of NAD+ precursor supplementation for increasing muscle performance in normally active older men, combined with examination of the molecular and metabolic mechanisms regulating physiological responses.

Enrollment: 16 patients

Sex: Male

Ages: 65 to 75 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Male
• Age between 65-75 years
• Body mass index between 19-29
• No active cardiovascular or metabolic disease
• No active respiratory disease
• No current musculoskeletal injuries
• A sedentary lifestyle (i.e. does not engage in strenuous, planned physical activity)
• The ability to give informed consent

Exclusion criteria

• Currently taking a statin drug or NSAIDs
• Have a current peptic ulcer
• Have any renal impairment
• Have a known hypersensitivity to Acipimox

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Quadruple Blind

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16 participants in 2 patient groups, including a placebo group

active oral supplement

Experimental group

Description:

The active supplement will contain the prescription drug Acipimox (250 mgs) , a nicotinic acid precursor traditionally used to lower blood lipid levels. The supplement will be administered 3 times per day, for a 14 day period.

Treatment:

Dietary Supplement: Acipimox

placebo supplement

Placebo Comparator group

Description:

The placebo supplement will contain only cellulose microcrystalline. This is an inert substance widely used in many pill and tablet formulations. It is an insoluble fibre and is not absorbed into the blood stream therefore is unlikely to cause toxicity when taken orally.

Treatment:

Dietary Supplement: placebo