Table 4.
Comparison of effects of RUSF-v and RUSF-b, showing mean within individual differences by treatment order
| Median (IQR) at time 1 | Median (IQR) at time 3 | Mean within individual differences (SD)* | RUSF-v treatment effect (95% CI)* | p value* | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aminoacids | ||||||
| Arginine, μmol/L | ||||||
| RUSF-v first | 74·84 (58·13–99·35) | 57·66 (51·14–81·12) | −30·80 (64·83) | −60·01 (−82·17 to −37·85) | <0·0001 | |
| RUSF-b first | 58·25 (51·88–68·24) | 77·17 (57·34–106·52) | 29·21 (55·76) | .. | .. | |
| Citrulline, μmol/L | ||||||
| RUSF-v first | 21·91 (18·10–28·69) | 21·10 (18·82–25·18) | −18·45 (67·47) | −33·03 (−55·46 to −10·61) | 0·0042 | |
| RUSF-b first | 21·90 (19·08–25·48) | 22·56 (19·48–27·70) | 14·59 (54·12) | .. | .. | |
| Ornithine, μmol/L | ||||||
| RUSF-v first | 64·80 (52·53–102·37) | 49·38 (41·78–66·46) | −48·50 (69·92) | −72·13 (−94·74 to −49·53) | 0·0001 | |
| RUSF-b first | 53·68 (47·16–63·78) | 68·81 (55·74–98·26) | 23·64 (52·05) | .. | .. | |
| Asymmetric dimethylarginine, μmol/L | ||||||
| RUSF-v first | 0·78 (0·67–0·98) | 0·82 (0·68–1·06) | 5·46 (57·89) | −3·74 (−22·14 to 14·65) | 0·6874 | |
| RUSF-b first | 0·78 (0·66–0·88) | 0·83 (0·72–0·96) | 9·20 (40·99) | .. | .. | |
| Arginine to ornithine ratio | ||||||
| RUSF-v first | 1·15 (0·96–1·33) | 1·17 (1·01–1·48) | 6·52 (26·92) | 8·67 (−2·20 to 19·55) | 0·12 | |
| RUSF-b first | 1·05 (0·91–1·36) | 1·10 (0·83–1·38) | −2·15 (32·28) | .. | .. | |
| Global arginine bioavailability ratio | ||||||
| RUSF-v first | 0·84 (0·73–0·97) | 0·84 (0·75–1·02) | 1·55 (23·12) | −0·72 (−10·19 to 8·74) | 0·88 | |
| RUSF-b first | 0·76 (0·66–0·97) | 0·78 (0·66–1·03) | 2·28 (28·37) | .. | .. | |
| Arginine to asymmetric dimethylarginine ratio | ||||||
| RUSF-v first | 97·53 (71·48–142·14) | 78·64 (55·77–95·37) | −36·26 (73·31) | −56·26 (−81·38 to −31·13) | <0·0001 | |
| RUSF-b first | 75·58 (57·26–101·16) | 94·49 (67·98–127·58) | 20·00 (63·47) | .. | .. | |
| Endothelial function | ||||||
| Flow-mediated dilatation, % | ||||||
| RUSF-v first | 8·20 (3·1) N=56 | 7·88 (3·20) N=56 | −0·32 (4·02) | −1·00 (−2·47 to 0·47) | 0·1821 | |
| RUSF-b first | 8·31 (2·91) N=58 | 8·98 (3·76) N=58 | 0·67 (3·93) | .. | .. | |
| Brachial artery diameter at rest, mm | ||||||
| RUSF-v first | 2·66 (0·38) N=58 | 2·69 (0·42) N=58 | 0·03 (0·20) | 0·10 (0·03 to 0·18) | 0·0100 | |
| RUSF-b first | 2·72 (0·39) N=58 | 2·64 (0·35) N=58 | −0·08 (0·23) | .. | .. | |
| Baseline blood flow (VTI), m | ||||||
| RUSF-v first | 0·24 (0·09) N=58 | 0·21 (0·08) N=58 | −0·03 (0·10) | 0·04 (0·00 to 0·07) | 0·0460 | |
| RUSF-b first | 0·27 (0·09) N=58 | 0·20 (0·09) N=58 | −0·07 (0·10) | .. | .. | |
| Absolute reactive hyperaemia, m | ||||||
| RUSF-v first | 0·76 (0·17) N=56 | 0·80 (0·21) N=56 | 0·04 (0·23) | 0·03 (−0·06 to 0·11) | 0·5454 | |
| RUSF-b first | 0·75 (0·19) N=58 | 0·77 (0·23) N=58 | 0·02 (0·22) | .. | .. | |
| Response to glyceryl trinitrate, % | ||||||
| RUSF-v first | 4·01 (1·71) N=56 | 4·62 (2·02) N=56 | 0·61 (2·52) | 0·15 (−0·91 to 1·20) | 0·7862 | |
| RUSF-b first | 4·40 (2·41) N=57 | 4·86 (2·26) N=57 | 0·46 (3·12) | .. | .. | |
| Blood markers | ||||||
| Haemoglobin, g/dL | ||||||
| RUSF-v first | 7·67 (1·04) N=59 | 7·55 (0 .96) N=59 | −0·12 (0·64) | 0·23 (−0·03 to 0·49) | 0·0777 | |
| RUSF-b first | 7·94 (1·01) N=58 | 7·58 (1·09) N=58 | −0·36 (0·77) | .. | .. | |
| C-reactive protein, mg/L | ||||||
| RUSF-v first | 2·90 (1·55–6·30) | 3·60 (2·10–7·10) | 118·91 (97·72) | −14·77 (−57·51 to 27·96) | 0·94 | |
| RUSF-b first | 3·80 (1·80–8·20) | 4·40 (1·80–8·50) | 133·68 (107·48) | .. | .. | |
| Lactate dehydrogenase, IU/L | ||||||
| RUSF-v first | 628 (500–730) | 587 (479–705) | 643·77 (33·13) | 7·31 (−5·13 to 19·76) | 0·51 | |
| RUSF-b first | 589 (500–690) | 617 (509–708) | 636·46 (25·66) | .. | .. | |
| Total bilirubin, mg/dL | .. | |||||
| RUSF-v first | 35·85 (20·60–48·10) | 39·60 (28·30–58·70) | 359·44 (49·72) | 10·88 (−11·68 to 33·46) | 0·39 | |
| RUSF-b first | 32·80 (22·20–44·50) | 32·20 (26·20–56·10) | 348·55 (58·63) | .. | .. | |
| Non-conjugated bilirubin, mg/dL | ||||||
| RUSF-v first | 23·19 (11·50–34·70) | 28·20 (16·90–46·80) | 318·02 (61·46) | 9·10 (−18·79 to 37·00) | 0·84 | |
| RUSF-b first | 21·30 (15·03–31·20) | 20·55 (15·30–40·70) | 308·92 (72·46) | .. | .. | |
RUSF=ready-to-use food supplement.
*
Non-normally distributed variables were transformed for t tests with y=100*ln(x); for these, estimated effects can be interpreted as a percentage difference in treatment effect on the original scale,33 and a negative value indicates a positive RUSF-v treatment effect.