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Glutamine and antioxidant supplements for AIDS-related wasting
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Muscle loss is a common problem in people living with HIV/AIDS. When a person's muscle mass decreases significantly, the term wasting is often applied. Both research and clinical experience have shown that people who experience wasting have a lower survival rate than those who are able to maintain their body weight. To help prevent and treat wasting, many people take nutritional supplements. One such supplement, glutamine, has recently been studied in a clinical trial in combination with antioxidants. The results of the study appear in the November issue of Nutrition.
Twenty-six patients with AIDS-related wasting received either a placebo or 40 grams of glutamine per day in combination with antioxidants. After 12 weeks, the group treated with the glutamine-antioxidant combination gained on average 2.2 kilograms, compared to 0.3 kg in the placebo group. The researchers also noted "minimal changes in fat mass and extracellular water in both groups." In other words, the subjects receiving glutamine primarily gained weight in the form of lean body mass.
In light of these findings, the researchers suggest that combining glutamine-antioxidant supplementation with nutritional counselling may provide an effective and low-cost approach to treating AIDS-related wasting.
Nutrition 1999;15:860-864. | 
