The Physiology of Human Brown Adipose Tissue

Recruiting now

Conditions studied: Adipose Tissue, Brown, Adipose Tissue, Obesity

In brief

Brown fat is a type of fat, found in both children and adults, which can produce heat and regulate the body's metabolism and energy use. White fat is the more common type of fat which is used to store extra calories. Understanding more about differences between brown and white fat may allow us to develop new approaches to improve the body's metabolism.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT04352244

Run by

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

People needed

40

Starts

2020-03-05

Expected to finish

2027-06-30

Last updated by the study team

2025-10-31

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 75. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Healthy participants between age 18 and 75 years undergoing planned clinically indicated procedure at BIDMC.

You may not qualify if…

• Body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 40 kg/m2
• History of any local or systemic infectious disease with fever or requiring antibiotic within four weeks of drug administration;
• Diabetes, either previously diagnosed or hemoglobin A1c greater than or equal to 6.5%
• Use of oral or parenteral corticosteroids (epidural permitted) or other medication known to cause insulin resistance in the previous 6 weeks.
• Willingness to provide informed consent and follow study procedures, including attending scheduled visits.
• Chronic kidney disease stage 4 or 5 (including end-stage renal disease);
• Hepatic disease, including serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) or aspartate transaminase (AST) greater than or equal to 3 times the upper limit of normal; hepatic synthetic insufficiency as defined as serum albumin < 3.0 g/dL; or serum bilirubin > 2.0;
• Active malignancy (except squamous or basal cell carcinoma of skin)
• Bleeding disorder, treatment with anticoagulants (if not discontinued prior to surgery), or platelet count <50,000;
• Current addiction to alcohol or substances of abuse;
• Mental incapacity, unwillingness or language barriers precluding adequate understanding or cooperation;
• Use of an investigational drug within 30 days prior to screening.
• There will be no involvement of special vulnerable populations such as fetuses, neonates, pregnant women, children, prisoners, institutionalized or incarcerated individuals, or others who may be considered vulnerable populations.
• Because the goal is to study adult human brown adipose tissue, children are not eligible to participate.

Where it is running

• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center — Boston, Massachusetts, United States (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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