Comparing the effects of whey and casein supplementation on nutritional status and immune parameters in patients with chronic liver disease: a randomised double-blind controlled trial

Abstract Protein supplementation may be beneficial for patients with chronic liver disease (CLD). This study compared the effects of whey protein isolate (WP) and casein (CA) supplementation on nutritional status and immune parameters of CLD patients who were randomly assigned to take 20 g of WP or CA twice per d as a supplement for 15 d. Body composition, muscle functionality and plasmatic immunomarkers were assessed before and after supplementation. Patients were also classified according to the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) into less (MELD < 15) and more (MELD ≥ 15) severe disease groups. Malnutrition, determined by the Subjective Global Assessment at baseline, was observed in 57·4 % and 54·2 % of patients in the WP and CA groups, respectively (P = 0·649). Protein intake was lower at baseline in the WP group than in the CA group (P = 0·035), with no difference after supplementation (P = 0·410). Both the WP and CA MELD < 15 groups increased protein intake after supplementation according to the intragroup analysis. No differences were observed in body composition, muscle functionality, most plasma cytokines (TNF, IL-6, IL-1β and interferon-γ), immunomodulatory proteins (sTNFR1, sTNFR2, brain-derived neurotrophic factor and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor) or immunomodulatory hormones (adiponectin, insulin and leptin) after supplementation in the WP groups at the two assessed moments. WP supplementation increased the levels of interferon-γ-induced protein-10/CXCL10 (P = 0·022), eotaxin-1/CCL11 (P = 0·031) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1/CCL2 (P = 0·018) and decreased IL-5 (P = 0·027), including among those in the MELD ≥ 15 group, for whom IL-10 was also increased (P = 0·008). Thus, WP consumption by patients with CLD impacted the immunomodulatory responses when compared with CA with no impact on nutritional status.

Download Full-text

Correlation Between Body Composition Analysis and Biochemical Nutritional Markers in Maintenance Hemodialysis Patients with Chronic Liver Disease

Revista de Chimie ◽

10.37358/rc.20.11.8378 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 71 (11) ◽

pp. 94-100

Author(s):

Luciana Carmen Nitoi ◽

Valeriu Ardeleanu ◽

Anca Pantea Stoian ◽

Lavinia Alexandra Moroianu

Keyword(s):

Body Composition ◽

Liver Disease ◽

Nutritional Status ◽

Chronic Liver Disease ◽

The Body ◽

Chronic Liver ◽

Composition Analysis ◽

Arterial Line ◽

Body Protein ◽

Total Body

Several approaches have been used to assess protein-energy wasting syndrome, such as clinical evaluation, biochemical nutritional markers, anthropometric measurements, but Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) techniques hold a central place in clinical settings. The aim of this study is to report our clinical experience with BIA and the correlations between biochemical nutritional markers and BIA nutritional parameters in hemodialysis (HD) patients associating or free of chronic liver disease. This cross-sectional observational study included 69 HD patients divided into two groups: 33 with chronic liver disease (CLD+) versus 36 chronic liver disease-free (CLD-) from one HD unit in Romania. Serum albumin (SA), serum creatinine (SCr) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were obtained from the HD arterial line immediately before the HD session and by BIA the body composition including total body water (TBW), total body fat (TBF), lean fat free mass(LFFM), body muscular mass (BMM), malnutrition index and body protein reserve (PR) were assessed. No significant differences between groups were found in BCM, BMM, PR and TBF (p = 0.92, p = 0.60, p = 0.907, and p = 0.634, respectively). Malnutrition index had a significantly higher mean value in HD-CLD(+) patients (p = 0.00). HD-CLD(-) group showed a strong correlation between SA and SCr and BCM, BMM (kg), LFFM (kg) and body PR (kg) (r=.48, r=.50, r=.44, r=.50; resp. r=.42, r=.40, r=.36, r=.42). In HD-CLD(+) patients, a significant positive correlation was found between SA and SCr and LFFM and body PR (r=.37, r=.35; resp. r=.44, r=.35). Discussion: BIA is one of the most accurate techniques for assessing nutritional status and should be regularly used in clinical practice along with biochemical nutritional markers in HD patients. Although the protein metabolism depends to a large extent on liver function, CLD cannot be considered as having a significant impact on nutritional status in HD patients.

Download Full-text