Impact of Melatonin and Branched-Chain Amino Acids Cosupplementation on Quality of Life, Fatigue, and Nutritional Status in Cachectic Heart Failure Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background

Cardiac cachexia (CC) adversely affects the lifestyle of heart failure (HF) patients. The current study examined the impact of melatonin cosupplementation and branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) on quality of life (QoL), fatigue, and nutritional status in cachectic HF patients.

Methods

In this trial, 84 CC patients were randomized to melatonin, BCAAs, or coadministration (both) as intervention groups and a control group over 8 weeks. At baseline and postintervention, QoL, fatigue, and nutritional status were assessed.

Results

After intervention, improvement in the overall and physical dimensions of QoL and appetite score were found to be statistically significant in the BCAAs (P < .001) and the melatonin+BCAAs (P < .001) groups compared with the placebo group. The emotional dimension score was significantly lower in the BCAAs group compared with the placebo group (P = .001). There was a statistically significant improvement in fatigue severity in all 3 intervention groups compared with the placebo group. The nutrition risk index (NRI) score increased significantly only in the melatonin group (P = .015), and there was no significant difference between the other groups (P = .804).

Conclusions

Cosupplementation with BCAAs and melatonin improved QoL, fatigue status, and appetite in cachectic HF patients but did not affect NRI.