Stroke patients who took BCAAs showed improvement in muscle and functional status compared to those who did not take BCAAs, according to a study reported on March 11, 2022 in Frontiers in Neurology.¹ Having a stroke can lead to a decline in both muscle tissue and physical function because of brain damage, inactivity, malnutrition and other factors.

The study included 54 patients who had a recent stroke (within three months) and were receiving intensive therapy at a rehabilitation center. The majority of patients had muscle tissue loss. Half of the men and women in the study received 6 grams of a blend of the amino acids leucine, isoleucine and valine, to be consumed twice per day for four weeks.

Among participants who received BCAAs, handgrip strength and skeletal muscle mass significantly improved after treatment, while muscle mass significantly decreased in the control group. Both groups experienced improvement in physical function as indicated by assessments of activities of daily living, balance, gait and swallowing; however, the group that received BCAAs improved to a greater extent.

Of those in the group receiving BCAAs, 46% regained the ability to walk by the study’s conclusion, compared to 37% of patients not receiving BCAAs. Improvement in muscle status was correlated with better physical function, especially ambulatory (walking-related) scores, among participants who received the amino acids.

“Proper strategies involving rehabilitation interventions and nutritional support are important for maximum functional improvement after stroke,” authors Min Kyu Park of Chungbuk National University Hospital in South Korea and colleagues concluded. “We suggest that BCAAs would be a helpful, adjuvant therapy at a critical period of poststroke neurological recovery during intensive stroke rehabilitation intervention.”