Allopurinol in Functional Impairment (ALFIE) Trial: 'Improving Muscle Strength'
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2017-09-20
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Sarcopenia is defined as the presence of low muscle mass and either decreased muscle strength
or function. It is increasingly becoming a significant cause of frailty, loss of independence
and physical disability in ageing western populations. Recent experimental evidence has
revealed that skeletal muscle is particularly susceptible to damaging molecules that result
in oxidative stress and that oxidative stress plays a prominent role in the development and
progression of sarcopenia. The investigators have previously shown that the xanthine oxidase
inhibitor allopurinol is able to abolish vascular oxidative stress and improve endothelial
function in cohorts such as optimally treated chronic heart failure and chronic kidney
disease. Recently, the investigators have also shown that allopurinol improves exercise
tolerance and time to ST-depression in optimally treated coronary artery disease, suggesting
that allopurinol could also exert its effects through ATP and/or oxygen sparing mechanisms.
Therefore, we propose a randomised double blind placebo-controlled parallel group trial of
allopurinol in patients with primary sarcopenia using MR-spectroscopy and Flow Mediated
Dilatation to investigate the possible mechanisms that underlie this exciting possibility