The Effects of Electrical Acupuncture and Essential Amino Acid Supplementation on Sarcopenic Obesity in Male Older Adults: A Randomized Control Study

Abstract

Objective: Aging which is accompanied by loss of skeletal muscle and increase of body fat in some adults older than 60 years does not only result in remarkable influences on daily life function but also increases the risk of cardiovascular events. This study used electrical acupuncture together with essential amino acid supplementation to treat sarcopenic obesity (SO) in male older adults. Methods: A total of 48 male participants with SO (>60 years old) were randomized to electrical acupuncture with oral essential amino acids (EA + AA) or oral essential amino acids alone (AA). Acupuncture points on the limbs were punctured and stimulated electrically once every 3 days for 12 weeks. All participants received essential amino acids orally, twice per day for 28 weeks. Body fat percentage (BFP) and appendicular skeletal muscle index (ASM/H²) was determined by bioelectrical impedance analysis. Results: Both groups exhibited significant changes in BFP after 12, 20, and 28 weeks compared with baseline values; for ASM/H², there were significant differences to baseline values after 12, 20, and 28 weeks in the EA + AA group, but only after 28 weeks in the AA group. Between the two groups, there were significant differences in BFP after 12, 20, and 28 weeks, and in ASM/H² after 20 and 28 weeks. Conclusion: Both methods decrease BFP and increase ASM/H². In male older adults, electrical acupuncture with oral essential amino acids is more effective and can increase muscle mass in a shorter time than oral essential amino acids alone.

Diabetes and Sarcopenic Obesity: Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, and Treatments

“…Acupuncture has been used in diabetes for a long time in Asian countries and recent studies have also suggested that acupuncture may alleviate SO (197)(198)(199). A randomized controlled trial, using electrical acupuncture coupled with essential amino acid supplementation to treat SO in male older people, has indicated that both electrical acupuncture with oral essential amino acids group and oral essential amino acids alone group can decrease BF% and increase ASM/H2, with the combination group being more effective than another group.…”

“…A randomized controlled trial, using electrical acupuncture coupled with essential amino acid supplementation to treat SO in male older people, has indicated that both electrical acupuncture with oral essential amino acids group and oral essential amino acids alone group can decrease BF% and increase ASM/H2, with the combination group being more effective than another group. Moreover, the combination group can increase muscle mass in a shorter time ( 197 ). Besides, a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials has confirmed that acupuncture should be recommended as a complementary treatment in T2D control, particularly with obesity or other metabolic disorders ( 195 ).…”

Effectiveness of Electroacupuncture for Simple Obesity: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

“…Studies have shown that electroacupuncture combined with treadmill exercise significantly increases expression of PGC-1 α , restores healthier levels of fatty acid oxidation, and improves skeletal muscle mitochondrial function, thus contributing to weight loss [ 11 ]. Animal studies have suggested that electroacupuncture can reduce weight by decreasing the expression of IL-6 [ 12 ], changing the expression of irisin [ 13 ], and inhibiting food intake when electroacupuncture treatment at acupoint ST36 upregulated anorexigenic proopiomelanocortin production in the solitary and hypoglossal nuclei [ 14 ]. Although the aforementioned studies provided noteworthy evidence regarding the treatment of obesity by electroacupuncture, we searched for randomized clinical trials (RCT) concerning such a treatment regimen in eight databases and performed a systematic review as well as meta-analysis in order to report a more advanced objective validation of available data.…”

The efficacy of essential amino acid supplementation for augmenting dietary protein intake in older adults: implications for skeletal muscle mass, strength and function

“…In a study focusing on women with sarcopenia (109) , supplementation with 3 g leucine-enriched EAA twice-daily (6 g in total) for a period of 3 months did not result in strength or functional performance improvements, other than walking speed, compared to baseline or a placebo condition. In a similar investigation, with strict dietary controls in place, ingestion of 10 g EAA as snacks twice-daily (20 g in total) over 28 months was shown to increase appendicular skeletal muscle index in patients with sarcopenia and obesity (114) , however no functional outcome measures were reported. Furthermore, Borsheim et al .…”