10 Oct Muscle Wasting in Critical Illness
Posted at 17:40h
in Author Interviews, Critical Care - Intensive Care - ICUs, JAMA, Nutrition, Protein
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Zudin Puthucheary MBBS B.Med.Sci D.UHM EDICM MRCP FHEA
NIHR Research Fellow, Respiratory and Critical Care
Institute of Health and Human Performance, UCL
Post-CCT Fellow in Trauma and Critical Care,
Kings College Hospital
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Answer: That muscle wasting occurs rapidly and early in critical illness, with up to 2-3% loss of muscle mass per day. This is related to the numbers of organs failed, and is made worse by the degree of acute lung injury, and increased protein delivery. Muscle wasting is the result of both decreased muscle protein synthesis and increased muscle protein breakdown. In addition 40% of these patients developed muscle necrosis over the study period.