Anabolic Response to Beef vs Plant Protein in (Pre)Frail Older Adults Using a Novel Stable Isotope Pulse Method

Recruiting now · Not applicable · Has a placebo group

Conditions studied: Protein Metabolism

In brief

Frailty is a common clinical syndrome in older adults that increases the risk for poor health outcomes including falls, disability, hospitalization, and mortality. Previous research showed increased protein needs and reduced anabolic response to meals in older adults, indicating the need for proteins with a high anabolic capacity to prevent and attenuate physical and cognitive health decline throughout the frailty cycle. Recently, more people have chosen to eliminate animal (i.e., beef) products from their diets which is concerning because of beef's anabolic properties due to high essential amino acid (EAA) levels and many other positive health effects. The Researchers' recently developed stable isotope amino acid pulse method enables measurement of the true intracellular anabolic response to a meal and bioavailability of food-derived amino acids. The research objective is to examine differences in the anabolic response and bioavailability of individual EAA and non-essential amino acids (NEAA) in beef as compared to plant protein in older adults with and without (pre-)frailty.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT07254403

Run by

Texas A&M University

People needed

60

Starts

2025-10-31

Expected to finish

2026-12-01

Last updated by the study team

2025-11-28

Who can join

Age: 65 and older, up to 95. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Age 65-95 years old
• Ability to walk, sit down, and stand up (independently or with walking assistance device)
• No recent use (< 4 weeks prior to start of the study) of dietary supplements and medication influencing protein and amino acid metabolism (e.g., antibiotics, oral corticosteroids)
• Willingness to lay supine in bed for up to 6 hours
• Willingness and ability to comply with the protocol

You may not qualify if…

• Presence of malnutrition (BMI < 17 kg/m2), 2). BMI >35 kg/m2 to avoid weight-related metabolic disturbances,
• Established diagnosis and active treatment of chronic disease: Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, active malignancy, heart disease, kidney disease, liver disease, HIV/AIDS, Asthma (moderate to severe), Hep (A, B, or C)
• History of untreated metabolic disease including hepatic or renal disorder
• Presence of fever within the last 3 days
• Cirrhosis of liver
• Diagnosis of dementia, neurodegenerative disease (e.g., Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's chorea, frontotemporal dementia).
• (Possible) pregnancy
• Presence of acute illness or metabolically unstable chronic illness
• Active dependence on alcohol or drugs
• Newly prescribed long-term oral corticosteroids
• Planned elective surgery requiring 2 or more days of hospitalization during the entire study
• Failure to give informed consent or Investigator's uncertainty about the willingness or ability of the subject
• Already enrolled in another clinical trial
• Any condition according to the PI or nurse that was found during the screening visit, that would interfere with the study or safety of the patient
• Known allergy to any of the components of the feeding (soy, beef)
• Established daily diet of vegetarian/vegan composition

Where it is running

• Texas A&M University — College Station, Texas, United States (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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