Lack of Functional Benefit with Glutamine versus Placebo in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: A Randomized Crossover Trial

Study answer

What this study found

Glutamine did not improve walking function or muscle mass in ambulatory boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Walking speed was stable and showed no benefit versus placebo, and 2-minute walk distance, work, power, serum CPK, and 3-methyl-histidine/creatinine ratio were also not improved. Body composition findings did not favor glutamine: fat-free mass increased less with glutamine than placebo, and DXA fat mass percentage was 20.2% after glutamine versus 18.5% after placebo (p = 0.03). The intervention was generally well tolerated, with only minor adverse events reported.

Study & population

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial in 30 ambulatory boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy recruited from three French university hospital centers.

Intervention

Oral L-glutamine at 0.5 g/kg/day was given once daily in the morning with water or yogurt for 4 months per treatment period in a randomized crossover design.

Key limitation

The trial was small and limited to ambulatory boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy from three French centers, which restricts generalizability.

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Original abstract