Journal: Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle

Authors: LACE study group; Achison M, Adamson S, Akpan A, Aspray T, Avenell A, Band MM, Bashir T, Burton LA, Cvoro V, Donnan PT, Duncan GW, George J, Gordon AL, Gregson CL, Hapca A, Henderson E, Hume C, Jackson TA, Kemp P, Kerr S, Kilgour A, Lyell V, Masud T, McKenzie A, McKenzie E, Patel H, Pilvinyte K, Roberts HC, Rossios C, Sayer AA, Smith KT, Soiza RL, Steves CJ, Struthers AD, Sumukadas D, Tiwari D, Whitney J, Witham MD.

Summary: Clinical trials for older people have historically been challenging to design and recruit to, hence few trials have been done to test interventions for sarcopenia.

In this major multicentre trial, we tested the ACE inhibitor perindopril and the amino acid leucine as treatments for sarcopenia in 145 people aged 70 and over with sarcopenia recruited from 14 UK centres.

Neither perindopril or leucine improved muscle strength or size, and neither improved quality of life for people with sarcopenia, and combining these results with those from other trials shows that neither ACE inhibitors or leucine are effective ways to treat sarcopenia.

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