Triheptanoin Supplementation Does not Affect Nutritional Status: A Case Report of Two Siblings With Adult Polyglucosan Body Disease

Objective: An anaplerotic diet with the odd-chain triglyceride (triheptanoin-C7TG) supplementation was tested as a therapy for Adult Polyglucosan Body Disease (APBD) and is currently being assessed for various metabolic disorders. The aim of this study was to determine any unknown long-term effect of C7TG supplementation on the nutritional status, body composition, resting energy expenditure and biochemical parameters of two siblings with APBD. Methods: Two adult siblings with APBD were treated over a 2-year period with a high fat, low carbohydrate diet, with C7TG oil representing about 30% of the daily caloric intake. We carried out a long-term longitudinal study to determine weight, height, waist circumference; total, intra and extra cellular water by bioimpedance; body fat, lean mass, and bone mineral density by DEXA; resting energy expenditure by indirect calorimeter; glucose and lipid profiles. Results: C7TG supplementation failed to prevent APBD progression, corroborating recent literature. However, long-term C7TG supplementation did not produce any appreciable changes in nutritional status, body composition, resting energy expenditure or biochemical parameters, and no evidence was found of potential adverse effects. Conclusions: Our data suggest that maintenance of C7TG over a 2-year period still leaves a good safety profile in terms of nutritional status, body composition, resting energy expenditure, and biochemical parameters. However further studies involving larger sample sizes, also other diseases, are needed for a deeper understanding of its long-term effects.