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

Not Applicable

• Conditions: Spinal Cord Injuries
• Interventions: Dietary Supplement: Beta-alanine; Dietary Supplement: Dextrose

• Registration Number: NCT02604927
• Lead Sponsor: University of Sao Paulo

Brief 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.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2015-09-22
• Status Verified: 2015-11
• Study First Submitted QC: 2015-11-11
• Last Update Submitted: 2015-11-11
• Study First Posted: 2015-11-16
• Last Update Posted: 2015-11-16
• Study Start: 2016-02
• Primary Completion: 2016-11
• Study Completion: 2017-09

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: UNKNOWN
• Sex: Male
• Target Recruitment: 20

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.

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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.

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Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Beta-alanine	Beta-alanine	800 mg of beta-alanine, four times per day, during 28 days.
Placebo	Dextrose	800 mg of dextrose, four times per day, during 28 days.

Primary Outcome Measures

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

Secondary Outcome Measures

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

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

School of Physical Education and Sports, University of Sao Paulo; 🇧🇷 São Paulo, Brazil