A phase II, open-label clinical trial on the combination therapy with medium-chain triglycerides and ghrelin in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Table 3 Changes in the resting parameters after a 3-week combination therapy with ghrelin and dietary medium-chain triglycerides (N = 10)

	Pre-treatment	At 3 weeks	At 7 weeks	p value
Body weight, kg	46.1 (7.7)	47.5 (7.2)**	48.2 (8.0)***	0.0003
BMI, kg/m²	17.4 (2.1)	18.1 (1.5)*	18.3 (1.8)***	0.0008
Total lean mass, kg	36.1 (4.7)	37.0 (4.5)**	35.9 (4.6)^††	0.0011
Food intake, kcal/day	1853 (264)	1962 (318)	ND	0.0360
MEP, cmH₂0	99.7 (26.2)	106.9 (34.7)	102.0 (38.4)	0.5413
MIP, cmH₂0	− 56.3 (12.6)	− 63.7 (14.2)	− 59.3 (12.0)	0.2058
Urinary NE on 24-h collection, μg/day	268.7 (121.9)	126.1 (48.3)	ND	0.0063
Pulmonary function test
FEV₁, L	0.85 (0.24)	0.87 (0.20)	0.86 (0.21)	0.8963
FEV₁/FVC, %	34.2 (6.9)	33.0 (5.9)	33.0 (6.4)	0.5492
%FEV₁, %	33.4 (9.0)	34.4 (7.6)	34.2 (8.1)	0.7830
VC, L	2.53 (0.56)	2.60 (0.51)	2.58 (0.45)	0.8298
%VC, %	80.6 (14.5)	83.9 (12.1)	83.6 (10.8)	0.6316
SGRQ
Symptoms	66.4 (21.4)	50.9 (22.3)*	56.2 (17.4)	0.0153
Activity	67.9 (11.4)	70.6 (12.5)	67.8 (17.3)	0.6497
Impacts	40.3 (21.1)	36.8 (16.6)	44.4 (25.9)	0.1197
Total	53.2 (16.6)	49.8 (14.2)	53.5 (21.0)	0.3713

Data are presented as means (SD)
The resultant p values are represented. The variables were tested by a linear mixed effect model
FEV₁ forced expiratory volume in one second, FVC forced vital capacity, MEP maximal expiratory pressure, MIP maximal inspiratory pressure, NE norepinephrine level, SGRQ St. George Respiratory Questionnaire, VC vital capacity
^*p < 0.05, ^**p < 0.01, ^***p < 0.001 by the least squares means Tukey’s honestly significant difference test, compared with pre-treatment values
^†p < 0.05, ^††p < 0.01 by the least squares means Tukey’s honestly significant difference test, compared with the values at 3 weeks

ISSN: 1880-6562