Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2014 Jan;17(1):86-9.
doi: 10.1097/MCO.0000000000000010.

Branch chain amino acids: biomarkers of health and disease

Bryan C Batch  1 , Kristen Hyland, Laura P Svetkey
Affiliations
Review

Branch chain amino acids: biomarkers of health and disease

Bryan C Batch et al. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2014 Jan.

Abstract

Purpose of review: There is burgeoning evidence that branch chain amino acids (BCAAs) are biomarkers of metabolic, cardiovascular, renal and cerebrovascular disease. The purpose of this review is to summarize the current evidence in this area.

Recent findings: Recent evidence demonstrates that BCAAs are associated with insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, risk of cardiovascular disease, stage I and II chronic kidney disease and ischemic stroke. Further, circulating levels of BCAAs have the potential to predict populations at risk for cardiometabolic disease, type 2 diabetes and mortality from ischemic heart disease. Importantly, the relationship of BCAAs to insulin resistance is affected by the intake of fat in the diet as well as age.

Summary: Current evidence supports the potential use of BCAAs as biomarkers of disease. However, questions regarding the mechanisms underlying the relationship of BCAAs to disease process and severity need to be answered prior to the use of BCAAs as a biomarker in clinical practice.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

LinkOut - more resources