Effect of acquired immune deficiency syndrome wasting on the protein metabolic response to acute exercise

Wasting is a major complication of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infec tion, which remains prevalent even in the era of highly-active antiretrovir al therapy. We have previously shown that progressive resistance exercise c an increase lean body mass (LBM) significantly in patients with wasting, an d that exercise does not increase circulating HIV RNA concentrations. We ex amined the effect of 1 bout of moderately difficult exercise on whole body protein kinetics in 10 patients with HIV wasting and 12 patients with HIV i nfection without wasting. At baseline, there were no differences between th e groups in whole body leucine flux, oxidation, or nonoxidative leucine dis posal (NOLD, a measure of whole body protein synthesis). Six days after exe rcise, NOLD was significantly higher in the wasted patients compared with t he nonwasted ones (82.2 +/- 16.7 v 66.5 +/- 15.2 mu mol/kg LBM/h. P < .03). The change in NOLD between baseline and day 6 was significantly different between the 2 groups (+9.0 +/- 9.2 v -3.3 +/- 5.7 <mu>mol/kg LBM/h, P < .02 ). These data indicate that the ability to respond to exercise with protein synthesis is maintained in HIV wasting. Copyright (C) 2001 by W.B. Saunder s Company.