PET/CT of Skeletal Muscle Amino Acid Kinetics

Completed

Conditions studied: Sarcopenia

In brief

Our goal is to develop and test a new imaging technique to help scientists study sarcopenia, the process by which muscle becomes weaker with age. This imaging technique uses Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET/CT) scanners to measure the ability of muscle to synthesize new protein. This ability to build new muscle protein is known as the Protein Synthesis Rate, and is thought to decline as people age and to contribute to muscle weakening. We are researching this technique in order to develop a tool to help scientists and physicians better understand how muscle ages and how it changes based on some stimulus, such as when people eat a high protein meal, exercise, or take muscle-building drugs. If our research is successful, it will provide a new method for scientists and physicians to test the effectiveness of new drugs and other treatments for muscle weakness. The study will look for healthy woman between the ages of 65 and 80.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT01698424

Run by

University of California, San Francisco

People needed

12

Starts

2013-06-01

Expected to finish

2014-09-01

Last updated by the study team

2015-01-13

Who can join

Age: 65 and older, up to 80. Sex: female. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Healthy women
• age 65-80 years old

You may not qualify if…

• with any musculoskeletal disorders
• with any metabolic disorders
• blood thinning medications

Where it is running

• Imaging Center-Department of Radiology, UCSF — San Francisco, California, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

Trial information comes from ClinicalTrials.gov and is refreshed daily. TrialsForMe does not provide medical care and does not run the studies it lists.