Effects of Age on Amino Acid Delivery to Tendon

Dietary amino acid supplementation may provide an effective means to promote tendon injury recovery and enhance collagen synthesis. While most published research has been completed in animal models, research with young adults has shown that a leucine-rich whey isolate consumed during a chronic resistance training (RT) intervention resulted in greater gains (~60%) in tendon CSA when compared to placebo. Leucine-rich diets have also improved tendon collagen content in rodents. Further, in our preliminary work utilizing microdialysis, we demonstrate that oral consumption of a leucine-rich amino acid beverage increased delivery of amino acids to tendons in young adults (21-30 years). However, whether aging alters the delivery of amino acids to tendons after oral consumption has not be investigated. In order to optimize amino acid dosing for chronic interventional studies, we wish to determine if aging influences amino acid concentration in the peritendinous (space around the tendon) space after oral consumption.