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HealthyNCT01192269

Cheek Cells - Non-invasive Fatty Acid Status Marker

A study testing DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) in people with Healthy, run by Ludwig-Maximilians - University of Munich at 1 site in Germany.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

Various biological materials have been investigated to determine dietary fatty acid intakes, such as plasma, erythrocytes, and adipose tissue. The applied techniques are invasive sampling methods and may have limitations in studies involving infants or young children. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 20 to 40 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Healthy
What is being tested?
DHA (docosahexaenoic acid)
Type of treatment
Pill or oral medicine
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
13 participants
Where
1 siteGermany
Study dates
Aug 2010to Jun 2012
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

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 20 to 40 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult

Who may be able to join

  • Apparently healthy males and females
  • Body Mass Index 20-23 kg/m2
  • Average athletic activity

Who cannot join

  • Fatty fish consumption > 1 per week (salmon, mackerel, sardines, herring)
  • Intake of fish oil 3 months prior to study commencement
  • Weight reduction diet 4 weeks prior to commencement or during intervention
  • Recent (3 months prior to study commencement) medication assumed to interfere with lipid metabolism. The only exception will be the birth control pill, if the same drug (active ingredient) is taken for 3 months prior to study commencement and during the course of the study.
  • Abuse of alcohol or drugs
  • Pregnancy

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Germany1 site
  • Ludwig Maximilians University

    Munich, 80337

Other trials in Germany

About this study

Official title: Buccal Cheek Cells - a New Non-invasive Fatty Acid Status Marker

Various biological materials have been investigated to determine dietary fatty acid intakes, such as plasma, erythrocytes, and adipose tissue. The applied techniques are invasive sampling methods and may have limitations in studies involving infants or young children. In 1985 the group of McMurchie suggested buccal cheek cells as a marker for dietary fatty acid intake; however fatty acid profiling in cheek cells has not been widely used yet.

In a clinical intervention trial a new method will be tested. The study will consist of two consecutive parts: A) a correlation study will investigate the relationship between established fatty acid markers (red blood cells (RBC), plasma) and the newly proposed markers (cheek cells) before and after intervention B) an intervention study will investigate the time depended implementation and steady state of docosahexaenoic acid DHA in plasma, RBC and cheek cells.

Read more

The participants will receive 520 mg DHA daily over a period of 30 days. Blood and cheek cell samples will be collected once prior to study commencement and regularly during intervention.

The proposed study aims at verifying cheek cell analysis results as a non-invasive marker for fatty acid profiling. This will be shown by correlation analyses of fatty acids in cheek cells, erythrocytes and plasma phospholipids. Furthermore, the time kinetics of DHA incorporation into cheek cells will clarify if cheek cell fatty acids can be considered as a short or long term marker.

The new non-invasive method is expected to be extremely valuable as a non-invasive approach for studying the fatty acid profile in human, including infants and young children. Therefore, it is of great interest to validate the new method in a clinical trial.

Conditions
Healthy
Being tested
DHA (docosahexaenoic acid)
Keywords
cheek cells, phospholipids, fatty acids, docosahexaenoic acid, Buccal Cheek cells, non invasive fatty acid status marker

What participants receive

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

  • DHA (docosahexaenoic acid)Dietary supplement

    1 x 950 mg capsules per day orally, each capsule providing ~520 mg of DHA as a triglyceride. The liquid fill contains DHASCO® oil, derived from the microalgae, Schizochytrium sp., high-oleic sunflower oil, natural mixed tocopherols, ascorbyl palmitate, and rosemary extract (flavouring). The gelatin shell contains glycerin, water, and colouring (carmel, carmine, turmeric).

Study groups in NCT01192269
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Docosahexaenoic Acid SupplementExperimentalDHA supplement: Experimental 1 x 950 mg capsules per day orally, each capsule providing ~520 mg of DHA as a triglyceride. The liquid fill contains DHASCO® oil, derived from the microalgae, Schizochytrium sp., high-oleic sunflower oil, natural mixed tocopherols, ascorbyl palmitate, and rosemary extract (flavouring). The gelatin shell contains glycerin, water, and colouring (carmel, carmine, turmeric).
Receives: Dietary Supplement: DHA (docosahexaenoic acid)

What is being measured

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

  1. Phospholipids in buccal cheek cells

    the fatty acid composition of buccal cell phospholipids and individual phospholipid species will be assessed and percentages contribution of individual fatty acids or phospholipid species, respectively, will be reported

    Measured: assessed basally (before intervention start) and on days 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 14, 18, 24, 29 after the start of the intervention

Secondary outcomes (2)
  1. Phospholipids in plasma

    the fatty acid composition of buccal cell phospholipids and individual phospholipid species will be assessed and percentages contribution of individual fatty acids or phospholipid species, respectively, will be reported

    Measured: assessed basally (before intervention start) and on days 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 14, 18, 24, 29 after start of intervention

  2. Phospholipids in erythrocytes

    the fatty acid composition of buccal cell phospholipids and individual phospholipid species will be assessed and percentages contribution of individual fatty acids or phospholipid species, respectively, will be reported

    Measured: assessed basally (before intervention start) and on days 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 14, 18, 24, 29 after start of intervention

Timeline

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

  1. First posted1 Sep 2010 (estimated)
  2. Study startAug 2010
  3. Primary completionFeb 2011
  4. Study completionJun 2012

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
Basic science
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
13 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT01192269
Sponsor's protocol ID
116-10
Status last verified
Jun 2012
First submitted
16 Aug 2010
Last updated
3 Jul 2012
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) in people with Healthy, run by Ludwig-Maximilians - University of Munich at 1 site in Germany.

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 3 inclusion and 6 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: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 3 Jul 2012. 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 Germany. 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?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

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?

Phospholipids in buccal cheek cells (time frame: assessed basally (before intervention start) and on days 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 14, 18, 24, 29 after the start of the intervention). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
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 3 Jul 2012.

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