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Postmenopausal SyndromeEstrogenNCT00565916

Evaluating the Roles of Estrogen and Progesterone in Heart Metabolism

A study testing Estrogen and Progesterone in people with Postmenopausal Syndrome, run by Washington University School of Medicine at 1 site in United States.

Terminated

Stopped early. The study ended before it was planned to and will not resume.

Official record
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Trial summary

Estrogen and progesterone are two main female sex hormones. When a woman goes through menopause, the body's production of estrogen and progesterone significantly decreases. Recent studies have shown that the breakdown of fatty acids in cardiac muscle is important in maintaining a healthy heart, and that estrogen may… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 55 to 75 years, women onlyHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Postmenopausal Syndrome
What is being tested?
Estrogen and Progesterone
Type of treatment
Pill or oral medicine
Could I receive a placebo?
Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
How many people
22 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
Aug 2004to Jan 2008
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 55 to 75 years
  • Women only
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Healthy postmenopausal woman
  • Body mass index less than 30
  • Practices normal eating habits
  • Stops hormone replacement therapy at least 6 months prior to study entry

Who cannot join

  • Currently taking hormone replacement therapy
  • History of cardiovascular disease
  • Family history of coronary artery disease
  • Recent history of smoking, high blood pressure, or hyperlipidemia

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • Washington University School of Medicine

    St Louis, Missouri, 63366

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: Role of Estrogen/SERMS on Cardiac Fatty Acid Metabolism (Aim #1- Human Studies)

Estrogen and progesterone are two main female sex hormones. When a woman goes through menopause, the body's production of estrogen and progesterone significantly decreases. Recent studies have shown that the breakdown of fatty acids in cardiac muscle is important in maintaining a healthy heart, and that estrogen may enhance this process. Also, cardiovascular disease (CVD) occurs more frequently in postmenopausal women than in premenopausal women. This study will determine in postmenopausal women whether estrogen increases the heart's ability to use fats as energy and whether progesterone decreases this effect.

Read the detailed description

Menopause is a natural event that generally occurs in women between the ages of 45 and 55. During menopause, the body starts producing less estrogen and progesterone until menstruation eventually stops. Estrogen and progesterone are involved in many important functions in a woman's body, and the drastic decline of these hormones in menopause leads to significant changes in the body. Along with such changes, postmenopausal women are at a higher risk than premenopausal women for certain health problems, such as CVD. Previous studies have revealed that alterations in the breakdown of fatty acids in cardiac muscle play a key role in a variety of cardiac disorders. In studies involving human skeletal muscle, estrogen has been shown to increase the breakdown of fatty acids, while progesterone lessens this effect. This study will determine in postmenopausal women whether estrogen increases the heart's ability to break down fats for energy use and whether progesterone decreases this effect. This study will also analyze ovariectomized mice to determine if the candidate specific estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) raloxifene and tamoxifen increase the heart's ability to use fats as energy and whether the increase is similar to that seen with estrogen. Study investigators will also create estrogen receptor knock-out mice (mice with estrogen receptors removed) to further explore the roles of estrogen and SERMs in heart metabolism.

Participation in this double-blind study will last up to 1 month and will include three study visits. During Visit 1, participants will undergo three standard clinical evaluations. The first evaluation, a medical screening, will include a medical history exam and blood tests to measure estrogen and progesterone levels, liver and kidney function, cholesterol levels, and blood sugar and insulin levels. For the second evaluation, participants will undergo a body composition study to measure total body fat and muscle content using a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan. During the third evaluation, participants will undergo an electrocardiogram (ECG) and an echocardiogram (ECHO), each performed immediately before and after walking on a treadmill. The ECG will measure electrical activity of the heart, and the ECHO will involve imaging the heart with an ultrasound.

Visits 2 and 3, occurring 3 days apart, will each include two imaging tests of the heart: a positron-emission tomographic (PET) scan and a resting ECHO. Throughout both tests an ECG and blood pressure cuff will be used to monitor heart rhythm and blood pressure, respectively. During the PET scan, participants will lie flat in an imaging machine for three 45- to 60- minute intervals. Blood will be drawn and radioactive tracers will be injected via intravenous lines placed in the arms. The ECHO test will also be done during the PET scan.

Between Visits 2 and 3, participants will be randomly assigned to one of two hormone replacement therapy (HRT) regimens: estrogen plus placebo or estrogen plus progesterone. All participants will wear a patch containing estrogen and take a pill of either placebo or progesterone for the 3 days leading up to Visit 3. All participants will be asked for permission to store a sample of their blood for up to 10 years to be used in future research studies.

Being tested
Estrogen, Progesterone, Placebo
Keywords
Post-Menopausal, PET, Estrogen, Progesterone, Heart Metabolism, Cardiovascular Disease
Medical subject headings
Cardiovascular Diseases

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • EstrogenDrug

    Also called Estradiol

    Estrogen only plus placebo: estradiol topical patch 0.3 mg placed on the lower abdomen for 3 days plus an oral placebo.

    Other procedures: heart metabolism tests which includes a positron-emission tomography (PET) scan, an electrocardiogram (ECG), and an echocardiogram (ECHO).

  • ProgesteroneDrug

    Also called prometrium

    Estrogen plus progesterone: estradiol with oral progesterone (Prometrium, 200 mg/day) for 3 days, instead of placebo. Progesterone therapy involves taking a daily oral pill of 200 mg Prometrium for the same 3 days that the estradiol is taken.

  • PlaceboDrug

    Also called Inactive Drug

    Placebo progesterone therapy involves taking a daily placebo pill for the same 3 days that the estradiol is taken.

Study groups in NCT00565916
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
estrogen plus progesteroneExperimentalHormone replacement therapy (HRT): estrogen plus progesterone
Receives: Drug: Estrogen; Drug: Progesterone
estrogen plus placeboActive comparatorHormone replacement therapy (HRT): estrogen plus placebo
Receives: Drug: Estrogen; Drug: Placebo

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Number of Participants That Had an Increase in Myocardial Fatty Acid Utilization.

    Measurements of myocardial fatty acid utilization and oxidation with C[11]-Palmitate and PET in healthy postmenopausal women who take either estrogen alone or with progesterone. The primary outcome measure was designed to determine prospectively whether estrogen will increase the heart's fatty acid utilization and whether progestins will attenuate this effect, in a manner similar to what was seen in an observational study of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in post-menopausal women. To this end, we had anticipated enrolling 30 healthy post-menopausal women for assessment of cardiac fatty acid metabolism using positron emission tomography (PET) and radioactive C[11]-Palmitate both before and after 3 days of hormone replacement therapy. These volunteers were to be randomized to receive either estrogen alone (E) or combined estrogen/progesterone (EP).

    Measured: 3 days

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted30 Nov 2007 (estimated)
  2. Study startAug 2004
  3. Primary completionJan 2008
  4. Study completionJan 2008

Why it stopped: Atypically high dropout rate.

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Double blind
Who is masked
Participant, Outcomes assessor
Enrolment
22 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00565916
Sponsor's protocol ID
489
Other IDs
K23HL077179, IRB# 04-0812, RDRC# 538F, GCRC# 966
Acronym
Estrogen
Status last verified
Sep 2018
First submitted
29 Nov 2007
Last updated
16 Oct 2018
Data monitoring committee
No
Individual data sharing
Undecided

Publications

  • Castelli WP. Cardiovascular disease in women. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1988 Jun;158(6 Pt 2):1553-60, 1566-7. doi: 10.1016/0002-9378(88)90189-5.

    PubMed 3377033
  • Bokhari S, Bergmann SR. The effect of estrogen compared to estrogen plus progesterone on the exercise electrocardiogram. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2002 Sep 18;40(6):1092-6. doi: 10.1016/s0735-1097(02)02111-3.

    PubMed 12354433
  • Babiker FA, De Windt LJ, van Eickels M, Grohe C, Meyer R, Doevendans PA. Estrogenic hormone action in the heart: regulatory network and function. Cardiovasc Res. 2002 Feb 15;53(3):709-19. doi: 10.1016/s0008-6363(01)00526-0.

    PubMed 11861041
  • Petrie MC, Dawson NF, Murdoch DR, Davie AP, McMurray JJ. Failure of women's hearts. Circulation. 1999 May 4;99(17):2334-41. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.99.17.2334. No abstract available.

    PubMed 10226101
  • McKee PA, Castelli WP, McNamara PM, Kannel WB. The natural history of congestive heart failure: the Framingham study. N Engl J Med. 1971 Dec 23;285(26):1441-6. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197112232852601. No abstract available.

    PubMed 5122894

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Estrogen and Progesterone in people with Postmenopausal Syndrome, run by Washington University School of Medicine at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 4 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: stopped early, as of the sponsor's last update on 16 Oct 2018. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 16 Oct 2018). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Number of Participants That Had an Increase in Myocardial Fatty Acid Utilization. (time frame: 3 days). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00565916, which also lists 5 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 16 Oct 2018.

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