Effect of dipeptide of glutamine and alanine on severe traumatic brain injury.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the effect of dipeptide of glutamine and alanine on patients with severe traumatic brain injury.


METHODS
A total of 46 patients (31 males and 15 females, aged 7-68 years, (47+/-9.6) years on average) with severe traumatic brain injury were randomized into two groups: Group G (n=23) and Group C (n=23). The patients in Group G received nutritional remedy with the dipeptide of glutamine and alanine, whereas the patients in Group C received routine nutritional therapy only. GCS changes, the length of stay in the neurosurgical intensive care unit (NICU), the mortality,the count of lymphocytes, related complications including lung infection and hemorrhage of alimentary tracts, etc, were examined and recorded.


RESULTS
The fatality rate and the length of stay in NICU in Group G was lower than these in Group C (P larger than 0.05), but no obvious difference was found in GCS changes of the patients between the two groups (P larger than 0.05). The patients with lung infection and alimentary tract hemorrhage in Group G were less than those in Group C (P larger than 0.05). The count of lymphocytes in Group G was more than that in Group C (P larger than 0.05), but no difference was found in other nutritional data.


CONCLUSIONS
Dipeptide of glutamine and alanine can increase the resisting stress and anti-infection ability of patients with severe traumatic brain injury, which can also lower the mortality and shorten the NICU stay.
Yang
De-lin
DL
Department of Neurosurgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China. yanglin@163.com
Xu
Jun-fa
JF
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000409:Alanine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002648:Child; D004151:Dipeptides / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D005973:Glutamine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
D004151:Dipeptides; D005973:Glutamine; D000409:Alanine