Investigating Whether Acute Elevation of Fatty Acid Levels Alters Cerebral Glucose Transport and Metabolism

Recruiting now · Phase 1/Phase 2 · Has a placebo group

Conditions studied: Obesity

In brief

The goal of this study is to understand the role of brain glucose transport in individuals with obesity and the association with cerebral hypometabolism and these individuals' response to plasma glucose elevations. The main premise is that obesity leads to reduced brain glucose transport and that we can measure this reduction with magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). The secondary premises are that this reduction is driven by elevated non esterified fatty acids which act to turn on specific signaling pathways that regulate brain GLUT1 levels.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT04328337

Run by

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

People needed

40

Starts

2020-12-08

Expected to finish

2026-06-01

Last updated by the study team

2025-03-30

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 45. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Age 18-45 years
• HbA1C <6.5%
• Normal weight individuals: BMI 17-25 kg/m\^2
• Obese individuals: BMI >30 kg/m\^2

You may not qualify if…

• Creatinine >1.5mg/dL
• Hematocrit <35% for females and <39% for males
• ALT and AST >2.5X upper limit of normal
• Abnormal TSH
• Abnormal PT/PTT/INR
• Triglycerides >200 mg/dL
• Known hepatic, gastrointestinal, renal, neurologic, psychiatric, cerebrovascular disease
• Uncontrolled hypertension
• Current or past 3 months use of ketogenic diet
• Use of any medications, vitamins, or supplements that can alter cerebral metabolism or lipids
• Smoking
• Current or recent steroid use in last 6 months
• >5% body weight change in last 6 months
• Illicit drug use/alcoholism
• Inability to enter MRI/MRS
• For women: pregnancy, seeking pregnancy, or breastfeeding

Where it is running

• Biomedical Research Imaging Center Marsico Hall (UNC) — Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States (enrolling)
• Clinical and Translational Research Center (CTRC) Burnett-Womack Building (UNC) — Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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