TY - JOUR AB - Liver cirrhosis is frequently accompanied by malnutrition and hypoalbuminemia, which in turn commonly induces ascites in patients with liver cirrhosis. Ascites leads to abdominal distention and appetite loss, resulting in a deteriorated quality of life (QOL). Administration of branched-chain amino acid (BCAA)-rich supplements reduces hepatic encephalopathy and malnutrition. In addition, BCAAs by themselves up-regulate albumin synthesis through an increase in Fisher's ratio. Thus, in patients with liver cirrhosis, BCAA-rich supplements seem to be effective at reducing ascites and improving the QOL. Here, we report the case of a 58-year-old Japanese man with liver cirrhosis with severe ascites and peripheral edema. The hepatic function of the patient was classified as Child-Pugh grade C. To reduce protein-energy malnutrition, BCAA-rich supplements were administered as a late evening snack as part of a regimen including 2000 kcal/day (32.5 kcal/kg/day) of total energy and 83.5 g/day (1.3 g/kg/day) of total protein intake. Eight weeks after admission, ascites and edema had decreased. Nutritional status also improved from the time of admission to discharge; the serum BCAA level increased from 365.4 to 450.2 µmol/l. Furthermore, the ratio of BCAAs to tyrosine (BTR) increased from 1.70 to 3.65. We also evaluated the effects of nutritional therapy on the patient's QOL using the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey upon admission and at discharge. All subscores showed marked improvement and reached a level greater than the Japanese norm with nutritional treatment. In conclusion, BCAA supplementation not only reduced ascites, but also improved the QOL in a patient with liver cirrhosis. AD - Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume 830-0011, Japan. itou74m@med.kurume-u.ac.jp null AU - Itou,Minoru AU - Kawaguchi,Takumi AU - Taniguchi,Eitaro AU - Oku,Yuichiro AU - Fukushima,Nobuyoshi AU - Ando,Eiji AU - Oriishi,Tetsuharu AU - Uchida,Yuki AU - Otsuka,Momoka AU - Tanaka,Suiko AU - Iwasaki,Shoko AU - Torii,Mari AU - Yoshida,Kiyomi AU - Adachi,Yuko AU - Suga,Mariko AU - Yoshiyama,Manami AU - Ibi,Ryoko AU - Akiyama,Yoshiko AU - Takakura,Machiko AU - Mitsuyama,Keiichi AU - Tsuruta,Osamu AU - Sata,Michio DA - 2009/11/01 DO - 10.3892/mmr_00000201 EP - 981 IS - 6 JO - Mol Med Rep PY - 2009 SN - 1791-2997 1791-3004 SP - 977 ST - Branched-chain amino acid supplements reduced ascites and increased the quality of life in a patient with liver cirrhosis: A case report T2 - Molecular Medicine Reports TI - Branched-chain amino acid supplements reduced ascites and increased the quality of life in a patient with liver cirrhosis: A case report UR - https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr_00000201 VL - 2 ER -