Tier 3 — preclinical

Spermidine and spermine in elderly patients with coronary artery disease: a cross-sectional study of dietary intake and plasma and skeletal muscle concentrations

Christian Thorup, Thomas H Jensen, Chris N A Jeppesen, Andreas B Tinggaard, Mogens Johannsen, Jakob Hansen, Christian L Hvas, Charlotte L Rud, Jakob Wang, Jean Farup, Niels Jessen, Henrik Wiggers
Clinical Nutrition 2026 61:106651

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 42000692
DOI
10.1016/j.clnu.2026.106651
Trial registry
View on ClinicalTrials.gov Registered trial — results not yet published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Funding
Funded by Sygeforsikringen ‘danmark’ (Grant 2022-0129), the Danish Diabetes and Endocrine Academy, the Danish Cardiovascular Academy, Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus, and Eva and Henry Fraenkels Mindefond.
Competing interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest; Henrik Wiggers and Christian Thorup reported research grants as disclosed in the article.

Study snapshot

DesignCross-sectional baseline analysis from the POLYCAD cohort
ModelOlder adults with coronary artery disease
Samplen=192
InterventionNo intervention tested in this baseline analysis
DurationCross-sectional baseline assessment
EndpointsDietary spermidine intake; Plasma spermidine and spermine concentrations; Skeletal-muscle spermidine and spermine concentrations

What the study showed, in plain terms

This 2026 paper analysed baseline data from 192 older adults with coronary artery disease enrolled in POLYCAD. Higher dietary spermidine intake showed a modest association with plasma spermidine, while skeletal-muscle spermidine was not associated with dietary intake or plasma concentration. Because this is cross-sectional baseline research, it does not show that spermidine supplementation improves clinical outcomes.

Key findings

  • Dietary spermidine intake was modestly associated with plasma spermidine concentration.
  • Skeletal-muscle spermidine concentration was not associated with dietary intake or plasma concentration.
  • The analysis describes baseline polyamine biology in the POLYCAD cohort and is not an intervention-efficacy result.

What this study can and cannot tell us

The analysis is cross-sectional and observational, so it cannot establish causality. Participants were older adults with coronary artery disease, which limits generalizability. No supplementation effect was tested in this baseline analysis; intervention outcomes require the separate randomized POLYCAD results.

Editorial review

Reviewed by the Biohack Blueprint research team

Last verified

Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction Dr. Amr Yasser, PhDCardiometabolic, Musculoskeletal, Gut & Bioavailability Dr. Abdulla Mostafa, PhDCellular Senescence, Neurological, Mitochondrial & Brain-Ageing Biology