# Prevalence of ICU-Acquired Myopathy in Patients with Alcohol Use Disorders

> **NIH NIH K23** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · 2020 · $152,216

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Alcohol use is common in the United States with up to 7% of Americans meeting diagnostic criteria for
alcohol use disorder (AUD). AUD is a significant risk factor for poor health outcomes and up to 1.5 million
AUD patients require intensive care annually. However, little is known regarding the overall impact of AUD
on intensive care unit (ICU) survivorship. Muscle wasting is the most common organ manifestation of
alcohol abuse and contributes to respiratory compromise. Yet, no studies to date have investigated the
impact of muscle disease on outcomes from respiratory failure in AUD patients. Currently, the diagnosis of
neuromuscular dysfunction (NMD) relies on a combination of electrophysiology (EP) testing and muscle
biopsy, both of which are often impractical in routine ICU care. Recent data suggest that measurement of
muscle specific microRNAs (myomiRs) may accurately reflect ongoing myogenesis. We posit that specific
myomiRs might provide an easily measurable, specific biomarker for alcohol-related muscle injury that may
differentiate alcohol-related muscle disease and NMD in patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF). We
hypothesize that alcohol is an independent risk factor for NMD in respiratory failure patients and that
circulating myomiRs (c-myomiRs), miR-1, -133a/133b, -206, will accurately identify muscle injury in AUD
patients with ARF. To test this hypothesis, subjects will undergo serial EP testing and muscle ultrasound
(Aim 1) to identify prevalent alcohol-related muscle disease and incident NMD. Subjects will undergo serial
c-miRNA measurement (Aim 3) followed by a percutaneous muscle biopsy at day 7 of mechanical
ventilation to determine the concordance between muscle and circulating miRNA expression. Finally, this
cohort will be followed longitudinally (Aim 2) with functional testing and detailed alcohol assessment at
hospital discharge, 2 weeks and 6 months post-hospitalization to determine the long-term impact of alcohol-
related muscle disease on functional impairment. These assessments will provide the applicant with training
in 1) the pathophysiology of muscle injury and the regulation of muscle repair, 2) minimally invasive
techniques for assessing muscle mass and function, 3) molecular techniques for identifying muscle injury,
and 4) integrative approaches to the evaluation of AUD. This will advance the applicant towards her
expressed goal of becoming an independent investigator studying the long-term impacts of alcohol-related
muscle disease on critical illness.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9996433
- **Project number:** 5K23AA026315-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
- **Principal Investigator:** Sarah E Jolley
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $152,216
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-05-01 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9996433

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9996433, Prevalence of ICU-Acquired Myopathy in Patients with Alcohol Use Disorders (5K23AA026315-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9996433. Licensed CC0.

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