Metabolic Syndrome Clinical Trials

Heart disease and diabetes are leading causes of death and disability in the US, especially among Veterans. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disabling condition that also affects many Veterans. New research suggests that PTSD further increases the risk of developing heart disease and diabetes. What causes this increased risk is unknown. However, individuals with PTSD are often less physically active and make more unhealthy dietary choices than individuals without PTSD. Maintaining a physically active lifestyle, staying physically fit, and eating a healthy diet may be important for reducing the PTSD related risk for heart disease, diabetes and disability. The proposed research seeks to assess how important these lifestyle factors are for reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes and disability in Veterans with and without PTSD. A better understanding of these lifestyle factors and cardiometabolic health in Veterans will help to clarify how lifestyle interventions can best be applied to the prevention and treatment of long-term disability in Veterans. Aim 1: To examine physical activity participation as a mechanism linking PTSD to cardiometabolic health and functioning in post-9/11 Veterans. This study will longitudinally assess associations between PTSD diagnosis, physical activity, cardiometabolic health, and functioning over time in 250 TRACTS participants. H1-1: Total self-report physical activity will mediate the effects of PTSD on cardiometabolic health and functioning over time, such that lower physical activity will increase the detrimental effect of PTSD on cardiometabolic health and functioning. H1-2: physical activity intensity will moderate the effect physical activity has on cardiometabolic health and functioning. Aim 2: To examine diet quality as a mechanism linking PTSD to cardiometabolic health and functioning in post-9/11 Veterans. This study will longitudinally assess associations between PTSD diagnosis, diet quality, cardiometabolic health, and functioning over time in 200 TRACTS participants. H2: Self-report dietary intake will mediate the effects of PTSD on cardiometabolic health and functioning over time, such that a poor diet will increase the detrimental effect of PTSD on cardiometabolic health and functioning. Supplemental Aim: To validate the use of a self-report clinical measure of physical activity against objective measure obtained via accelerometry. Objective measurement of physical activity is not often accessible or feasible for VA providers (e.g., time constraints). It is essential that quick self-report physical activity measures accurately reflect the physical activity of Veterans. This study will compare data from a self-report clinical physical activity measure to objectively measured physical activity/sedentary time (i.e., accelerometry), cardiorespiratory fitness, cardiometabolic health, functioning, and PTSD symptom severity in 100 post-9/11 Veterans. H1A-1: Self-report and objective measurement of physical activity will be significantly correlated. H1A-2: Both self-report and objectively measured physical activity/sedentary time will be associated with cardiorespiratory fitness, cardiometabolic health, functioning, and PTSD symptom severity. Read Less

This is a multisite clinical trial of healthy lifestyle programs for middle-to-older-aged adults (50 -74 years) to improve their weight and, therefore, reduce risk for chronic disease. This study will investigate whether a proven, self-directed video-based lifestyle program can be significantly enhanced with the assistance of a coach via videoconference or phone to help people as they adopt healthy eating and exercise behaviors. Additionally, the study will examine what factors might explain why some people achieve better outcomes than others. Understanding this can help to tailor the program to an individual for personalized care in the future. Importantly, this study aims to demonstrate how readily a digital lifestyle program, with or without remote coaching, can be seamlessly delivered to patients at home via the patient portal of their electronic health record. This practical use of existing telehealth tools could be a feasible and effective means to offer behavioral treatments during routine medical care. Read Less

Berberine is a dietary supplement that comes from the roots, stems, and bark of various plants and has been used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine. It may help lower cholesterol, lower blood sugar, and reduce inflammation.Very few studies have been done in the United States to show how berberine effects cholesterol and blood sugar. This study is looking to see how berberine changes cholesterol and blood sugar, and to see how well it is tolerated.Berberine is not a prescription medication but it appears to have similar actions to common prescription medications to lower cholesterol like statins, and to lower blood sugar like metformin. We are studying berberine to see if it may be a good option for people that do not want to take prescription medications. Read Less

The investigators will conduct a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impact of an outreach campaign designed to increase engagement with Pack Health, a Quest Diagnostics wellness program providing individual health coaching for weight management and diabetes prevention. While employee wellness and disease-management programs have the potential to improve wellbeing and reduce healthcare costs, their effectiveness is often undermined by low engagement and selection bias in participant comparisons. This study will test whether an outreach approach that auto-enrolls eligible individuals-employees and their spouses/domestic partners-into the program, with the option to opt out, can increase engagement and improve health outcomes compared to the standard invitation-based approach. Read Less

This project focuses on an at-risk adolescent and young adult population who may gain long-term health benefits from detection of risk factors at a young age. The primary aims of this proposal are: 1) To observe whether adolescents and young adults with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) are more likely to have elevated liver fat (\>/=4.8%) than controls by studying liver fat deposition measured by magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS); 2) To assess the association of percentage liver fat with biomarkers of Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), dyslipidemia, insulin resistance and body composition in PCOS and controls. In the proposed study, 40 adolescents and young adults with PCOS and 40 age-comparable control subjects will be evaluated for metabolic disturbances and elevated liver fat using noninvasive and state-of-the-art techniques including MRI, dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry and an oral glucose tolerance test in order to fully assess the metabolic and body composition differences between these groups. This research proposal represents a critical step in understanding the metabolic and cardiovascular comorbidities of PCOS and their relationship to NAFLD. The investigator hopes to use the results generated by this research proposal in order to lay the groundwork for the prevention and treatment of metabolic disorders in adolescents with PCOS. The overarching goal is to decrease and prevent lifelong morbidity associated with this common disorder. Read Less

This is a randomized, parallel two-arm clinical trial design to study the efficacy of time-restricted feeding on metabolic risk in postmenopausal women, who may be particularly vulnerable to disruption of circadian eating rhythms and the associated metabolic dysfunction. It is hypothesized that time-restricted feeding will improve insulin sensitivity, glucose tolerance, body weight, and other metabolic parameters in metabolically-unhealthy postmenopausal women. Read Less

Obesity is associated with increased cardiometabolic disease risk due, in part, to heightened chronic inflammation arising from adipose tissue. There are no current targeted therapies to prevent or reverse the chronic inflammation of obesity, and a better understanding of these inflammatory pathways in humans is key to future therapeutic interventions. This trial will determine both the anti-inflammatory potential of the SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin, and the contribution of adipose inflammation to surrogate measures of cardiovascular disease in a randomized controlled trial of obese patients. Read Less

This study is a pilot open label crossover trial to assess the feasibility and acceptability of reducing ultra- processed foods (UPF) in a personalized manner from the diets of patients with major depressive disorder who eat a large percentage of UPF. Read Less

Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) is a hormone that helps regulate blood glucose levels through improved insulin sensitivity and release of insulin from the pancreas, control hunger, induce satiety and plays a role in the metabolic health of a person. GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP1-RAs) have been shown to be effective in achieving weight loss in patients with type 2 diabetes while improving blood glucose control. Bariatric surgical procedures have been shown to be effective in treating obesity as well as superior to best medical therapy for treatment of diabetes not just through restriction of calories but also through a positive impact in modifications of gut hormones, changes in circulating bile acids, modifications in the gut microflora as well as other undefined mechanisms. The combined benefits of GLP1-RAs with bariatric surgery have only been studied to a limited effect. In this randomized trial, the effects of continuation or discontinuation of GLP1-RA therapy in patients undergoing bariatric surgery will be determined. We will compare changes in weight, metabolic determinants including circulating bile acids and gut microbiome, psychological determinants of eating behavior, and adverse side effects in patients who continue vs discontinue therapy. Given differences in metabolic and clinical outcomes in patients undergoing vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), both surgical groups will be examined. The study will be conducted at a high volume bariatric surgical program where patients will undergo randomization at the time of final clinic visit prior to surgery to continue or discontinue GLP1-RA. It is hypothesized that participants who continue GLP1-RA therapy after bariatric surgery will lose more weight with improved blood glucose control than those who discontinue therapy. Furthermore, changes in gut microbiome and circulating bile acids, known determinants of metabolic health, will be modified to a differential extent in those who are on GLP1-RAs vs those where GLP1-RAs are discontinued. Understanding the role these medications play in not only clinical outcomes after metabolic surgery but potential metabolic mechanisms by which surgery improves patient's metabolic health could help people with obesity and type 2 diabetes make informed decisions about their treatment options as well as advise providers on the continuation of these medications in the perioperative and postoperative period. Read Less

The study aims to investigate the relationship between fasting insulin and Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) across various demographic factors, including age, sex, race/ethnicity, BMI, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) diagnosis. By analyzing these variables, the study seeks to identify potential variations in insulin levels, which could provide valuable insights into the impact of different factors on metabolic health and the development of insulin-related conditions. Read Less

The overall purpose of the study is to test the effect of Noom on exercise and diet advice in adults with type 2 diabetes. The overarching hypothesis is that the use of Noom may promote better dietary adherence during an exercise program, thereby promoting greater weight loss and cardiometabolic health compared to lifestyle advice only. In particular, the investigators anticipate that changes in metabolic and vascular insulin sensitivity will correlate with glycemic control and blood pressure changes. Read Less

Unhealthy sleep and cardiometabolic risk are two major public health concerns in emerging Black/African American (BAA) adults. Evidence-based sleep interventions such as cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) are available but not aligned with the needs of this at-risk group. Innovative work on the development of an artificial intelligence sleep chatbot using CBT-I guidelines will provide scalable and efficient sleep interventions for emerging BAA adults. Read Less