Skeletal muscle is anabolically unresponsive to an amino acid infusion in pediatric burn patients 6 months postinjury

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Study examined the effect of a steady state amino acid (AA) infusion on leg muscle protein turnover and whole-body muscle and whole-body nonmuscle protein breakdown rates in pediatric burn patients at 6 month postinjury compared with that of healthy subjects. A total of 10 pediatric patients and 5 healthy young males underwent an 8-hour stable isotope infusion study. During the last 3 hours, an AA solution was infused. Femoral arterial and venous blood samples and muscle biopsy samples were collected throughout the study. During AA infusion, the leg muscle protein synthesis rate significantly increased in both groups, however, in the burn group, protein breakdown also increased, although non-significantly. As a result, protein net balance remained negative. In the control group, breakdown nonsignificantly decreased resulting in a significant increase in muscle protein net balance. Whole-body protein breakdown was significantly higher in the burn patients. Findings suggest that, in pediatric burn patients at 6 months postinjury, leg muscle protein net deposition is unresponsive to AA infusion; and whole-body protein breakdown is significantly higher than in healthy subjects.

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