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DiabetesNCT06791837

Brain Blood Flow and Lactate in Non-obese and Obese Subjects

An observational study of Diabetes and Obesity, run by University of Missouri-Columbia at 1 site in United States.

Recruiting

Looking for participants now. Contact the study team or a site below to ask about taking part.

Sites and contacts
Official record
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Trial summary

Cerebral blood flow (CBF) is essential for maintaining brain health and function, as it ensures delivery oxygen and nutrients necessary to support neuronal activity. Reduced CBF can impair the brain's ability to meet its metabolic demands, leading to deficits in cognitive ability. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 45 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Diabetes, Obesity
What is being tested?
EXERCISE
How many people
24 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
1 May 2025to 1 Mar 2027
Phase
Observational
Are there results?
Not yet: the study is under way

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 18 to 45 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult

Study population: Individuals that live in the area of Columbia, MO

Who may be able to join

  • healthy adult men and women 18-45 years of age BMI 18-40 kg/m2 not pregnant, premenopausal with regular menstrual cycles not breastfeeding non-nicotine users

Who cannot join

  • medications known to affect sleep, autonomic control, blood lactate levels or metabolic, or cardiovascular function (PI discretion) self-reported history of hepatic, renal, pulmonary, cardiovascular, or neurological disease, stroke or neurovascular disease, bleeding/clotting disorders, sleep apnea or other sleep disorders, diabetes, history of alcoholism or substance abuse major cardiovascular event or surgical procedure within the past three months hypertension (>140/90 mmHg or at PIs discretion).
  • -

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.

Matt McDonald, MS contact

6185815501

mjmdr4@missouri.edu

Jill Kanaley, PhD contact

5738822519

kanaleyj@missouri.edu

United States1 site, 1 recruiting
  • University of Missouri

    Columbia, Missouri, 65211

    Matt McDonald, MS, 618-581-5501, mjmdr4@missouri.edu

    Jill Kanaley, PhD, 5738822519, kanaleyj@missouri.edu

    Recruiting

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: Cerebral Lactate Uptake and Transport in Obese and Non-Obese Individuals

Cerebral blood flow (CBF) is essential for maintaining brain health and function, as it ensures delivery oxygen and nutrients necessary to support neuronal activity. Reduced CBF can impair the brain's ability to meet its metabolic demands, leading to deficits in cognitive ability. Impairments in CBF are associated with cognitive decline and neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer's and dementia. Many factors influence CBF, but recently lactate has emerged as a key player. Blood glucose has long been considered the primary fuel for the brain, but emerging evidence indicates that lactate may be the preferred fuel for neurons, and lactate may become even more important under stressful conditions.

Individuals with obesity often have impaired lactate metabolism resulting in higher resting blood lactate concentrations and reduced ability to clear lactate after a physiological stress. At the same time, it is known that exercise is a powerful intervention for improving lactate metabolism.

Thus, this project seeks to investigate the role of lactate in brain blood flow in individuals with and without obesity as well as establish if short term exercise training (individuals with obesity only) will alter circulating lactate concentrations at rest and in response to exercise.

Read the detailed description

Blood lactate is often considered a waste product from aerobic metabolism. Many people assume it causes fatigue and muscle. Lactate is a signaling molecule in the body. In addition lactate is also a fuel. Evidence supports that lactate may be more important when the brain is stressed. We also know that individuals with obesity and/or type 2 diabetes may have impaired lactate metabolism.

The investigators will compare brain blood flow and lactate response to an exercise stress test and submaximal exercise in obese and non-obese individuals.

Conditions
Diabetes, Obesity
Being tested
EXERCISE
Keywords
lactate, obesity, exercise
Medical subject headings
Diabetes Mellitus, Obesity, Motor Activity

What participants receive

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

  • EXERCISEBehavioural

    each group will undergo a max test and a submaximal exercise test

Study groups in NCT06791837
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
non-obeseindividuals with a BMI<25 kg/m2
Receives: Behavioral: EXERCISE
obeseindividuals with a BMI 30-40 kg/m2
Receives: Behavioral: EXERCISE

What is being measured

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

  1. brain blood flow

    Using transcranial doppler we will measure brain blood flow

    Measured: over the 30 minutes of testing

Secondary outcomes (1)
  1. lactate concentrations

    Lactate will be measured in response to an exercise stress test as well as to a submaximal exercise bout

    Measured: over ~ 60 minutes of testing

Timeline

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

  1. First posted24 Jan 2025
  2. Study start1 May 2025
  3. Primary completion1 Mar 2027 (estimated)
  4. Study completion1 Mar 2027 (estimated)

Resources

More details

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

Study design
Study type
Observational
Observational model
Other
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrolment
24 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT06791837
Sponsor's protocol ID
2125746
Status last verified
Nov 2025
First submitted
19 Jan 2025
Last updated
26 Nov 2025
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
Yes: only coded IPD will be shared that is used in the results published

Publications

  • Xue X, Liu B, Hu J, Bian X, Lou S. The potential mechanisms of lactate in mediating exercise-enhanced cognitive function: a dual role as an energy supply substrate and a signaling molecule. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2022 Jul 30;19(1):52. doi: 10.1186/s12986-022-00687-z.

    PubMed 35907984
  • Bouzier-Sore AK, Voisin P, Canioni P, Magistretti PJ, Pellerin L. Lactate is a preferential oxidative energy substrate over glucose for neurons in culture. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2003 Nov;23(11):1298-306. doi: 10.1097/01.WCB.0000091761.61714.25.

    PubMed 14600437
  • Brooks GA, Osmond AD, Arevalo JA, Duong JJ, Curl CC, Moreno-Santillan DD, Leija RG. Lactate as a myokine and exerkine: drivers and signals of physiology and metabolism. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2023 Mar 1;134(3):529-548. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00497.2022. Epub 2023 Jan 12.

    PubMed 36633863

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

An observational study of Diabetes and Obesity, run by University of Missouri-Columbia 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 1 inclusion and 2 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: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 26 Nov 2025. 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?

This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.

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

Contact Matt McDonald, MS (6185815501, mjmdr4@missouri.edu), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

brain blood flow (time frame: over the 30 minutes of testing). 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 NCT06791837, which also lists 3 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 26 Nov 2025.

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