Method for the prevention and treatment of cachexia and anorexia

Abstract

The present invention relates to methods and nutritional compositions for the prevention and treatment of cachexia and anorexia. The methods of the invention comprise administering a composition comprising effective amounts of ω-3 fatty acids such as alpha-linolenic acid, stearidonic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, docosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid or mixtures thereof; of branched-chain amino acids valine, leucine, isoleuciné or mixtures thereof; with or without reduced levels of tryptophan and 5-hydroxytryptophan; and of antioxidant system selected from the group comprising beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, or mixtures thereof.

We claim:  
     
         1 . A method of preventing the onset of cachexia and/or anorexia or treating existing cachexia and/or anorexia in a human, said method comprising enterally administering to the human on a daily basis at least: 
 (a) an oil blend containing ω-6 fatty acids and at least 450 mg of ω-3 fatty acids, the weight ratio of ω-6 fatty acids to ω-3 fatty acids being from about 0.1 to about 3.0; and    (b) a source of amino-nitrogen wherein 15% to 50% by weight of the amino acids of said source of amino-nitrogen are branched-chain amino acids; and    (c) an antioxidant component comprising at least one nutrient selected from the group comprising beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, and mixtures thereof;    wherein at least said oil blend and said antioxidant are present in a liquid nutritional matrix.    
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising administering to the human a source of amino-nitrogen wherein tryptophan is present in an amount of less than about 5.0% by weight of the total amount of the amino acids present in said source of amino-nitrogen.  
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising administering to the human a source of amino-nitrogen wherein 15% to 25% by weight of the amino acids of said source of amino-nitrogen are branched-chain amino acids.  
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1  which further comprises daily administering to the human: 
 (a) an oil blend containing ω-6 fatty acids and at least 1000 mg of ω-3 fatty acids, the weight ratio of ω-6 fatty acids to ω-3 fatty acids being from 0.1 to 1.0; and  
 (b) a source of amino-nitrogen wherein 15% to 25% by weight of the amino acids are branched-chain amino acids, and wherein tryptophan is present in an amount of less than 3.0% by weight of the total amount of the amino acids present in said source of amino-nitrogen; and  
 (c) an antioxidant mixture comprising beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E and selenium.  
 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4  wherein the antioxidant system of component (c) comprises about 2,500 to about 6,500 micrograms beta-carotene, about 250 to about 1,000 milligrams vitamin C, about 100 to about 500 I.U. vitamin E and about 75 to about 125 micrograms selenium per liter.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  in which the ω-3 fatty acids comprise from about 15 to about 30% by weight of the total fatty acids and are selected from the group consisting of alpha-linolenic acid, stearidonic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, docosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6  in which the ω-3 fatty acids comprise from about 15 to about 40% by weight of the total fatty acids and are selected from the group consisting of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7  in which at least about 15% by weight of the total fatty acids is eicosapentaenoic acid.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the weight ratio of ω-6 fatty acids to ω-3 fatty acids in said oil blend is from about 0.1 to about 1.0; about 15% to about 25% by weight of the amino acids of said source of amino-nitrogen are branched-chain amino acids; and said antioxidant component comprises a mixture of beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E and selenium.  
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 1  which further comprises daily administering to the human: 
 (a) an oil blend containing ω-6 fatty acids and at least 1000 mg of ω-3 fatty acids, the weight ratio of ω-6 fatty acids to ω-3 fatty acids being from 0.1 to 1.0; and  
 (b) a source of amino-nitrogen wherein 15% to 25% by weight of the amino acids are branched-chain amino acids, and wherein tryptophan is present in an amount of less than 5.0% by weight of the total amount of the amino acids present in said source of amino-nitrogen.  
 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  comprising feeding eicosapentaneoic acid as the ω-3 fatty acid.  
     
     
         12 . A liquid nutritional composition comprising per liter: 
 (a) at least 450 mg of ω-3 fatty acids and wherein the weight ratio of ω-6 fatty acids to ω-3 fatty acids is from about 0.1 to about 3.0;    (b) at least 50 grams of a source of amino-nitrogen wherein 15 to 50% by weight of the amino-nitrogen is branched-chain amino acids and wherein tryptophan is present in an amount less than about 5.0% by weight of the total amino-nitrogen; and    (c) at least 1 gram of an antioxidant system comprising beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E and selenium.    
     
     
         13 . The composition according to  claim 12 , wherein the weight ratio of ω-6 fatty acids to ω-3 fatty acids is from about 0.1 to about 1.0, and wherein 15 to 25% by weight of the amino-nitrogen is branched-chain amino acids.  
     
     
         14 . The composition according to  claim 13 , further comprising at least 1000 mg of ω-3 fatty acids per liter.  
     
     
         15 . A liquid nutritional composition according to  claim 12  wherein: 
 (a) at least 500 mg of ω-3 fatty acids are present and the weight ratio of ω-6 fatty acids to ω-3 fatty acids is from 0.2 to 2.0;  
 (b) tryptophan is present in an amount of less than 3.0% by weight of the total amino-nitrogen; and  
 (c) at least 2.0 grams of said antioxidant system is present per liter.  
 
     
     
         16 . A method of preventing the onset of anorexia or of treating existing anorexia in a human comprising administering to the human a nutritional composition comprising amino acids wherein about 5 to 25 grams of branched-chain amino acids selected from valine, leucine, isoleucine, or mixtures thereof are present in an amount from about 15% to about 50% by weight of the total amount of amino acids present in said composition, and wherein tryptophan in an amount not greater than about 5.0 % by weight of the total amount of amino acids is present in said composition and wherein ω-6 and ω-3 fatty acids are present at a weight ratio of from about 0.1 to about 3.0 and at least one antioxidant is present in the nutritional composition.  
     
     
         17 . A method for preventing immunosuppression in a human comprising administering to the human a liquid nutritional composition comprising: 
 (a) an oil blend containing ω-6 and ω-3 fatty acids, the weight ratio ω-6 fatty acids to ω-3 fatty acids being about from 0.1 to about 3.0; and    (b) an antioxidant component comprising about 2,500 to about 6,500 micrograms per liter beta-carotene, about 250 to about 1,000 milligrams per liter vitamin C, about 100 to about 500 I.U. per liter vitamin E, and about 75 to about 125 microgram per liter selenium.    
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17  in which at least 400 mL of said liquid nutritional composition are administered to said human per day.  
     
     
         19 . A method for enhancing the transport and efficacy of anticancer drugs in a human having a cancerous condition comprising administering to the human a nutritional composition comprising an oil blend containing ω-6 and ω-3 fatty acids, the weight ratio of total ω-6 fatty acids to ω-3 fatty acids being from about 0.1 to about 3.0.