Zudin Puthucheary: "Acute Muscle Wasting in the ICU"

Acute muscle wasting occurs rapidly in the critically ill patient, at rates of 2-3% per day, and is associated with levels of organ failure. Muscle wasting is associated with adverse outcomes at all stages of critical illness and critical illness recovery, affecting mortality up to 1 year later. Altered muscle protein homeostasis (and specifically depressed muscle protein synthesis) underpins this process and is in turn underpinned by bioenergetic failure and intramuscular inflammation. This talk will cover the underpinning biology, the potential role of exercise and nutrition in amelioration and treatment, and several ongoing trials in the field of acute muscle wasting.