Metabolic Syndrome Clinical Trials

Hardening of the blood vessels, called arterial stiffness, is a risk factor for future heart disease and its causes are unclear. The proposed study will 1) randomly assign adolescents at high risk of stiffening blood vessels to take a protein supplement called carnitine and study its effects on arterial stiffening and 2) study carnitine related genes for their effect on arterial stiffening. The study will definitively establish a role for carnitine action as a cause of stiffening blood vessels and signal a way to treat or prevent stiffening. Read Less

Study Purpose: The combination of caloric restriction and exercise is the most common first-line treatment for obesity-related disorders, yet we know very little about how these two very different treatments work together. A deeper understanding about mechanisms underlying the health benefits of adding exercise to a weight loss program will not only aid efforts to optimize more effective lifestyle interventions, but it can also uncover novel targets for the treatment/prevention of obesity-related diseases. Although a reduction in body fat is the fundamental adaptation to weight loss, we know almost nothing about the effects that adding exercise has on structural and functional changes within fat tissue that may further enhance metabolic health. This is very important because many obesity-related metabolic health complications are tightly linked with abnormalities in abdominal fat tissue. We argue exercise-induced modifications in abdominal fat tissue will reveal persistent health benefits even if some weight is regained Study Summary: 10% Weight Loss Phase - Subject participation in the study will involve a series of metabolic tests before, at midpoint, and after undergoing a 10% weight loss program (with or without exercise training depending on group randomization). During this, subjects will be randomized into one of two different experimental groups: 1. Moderate Intensity Continuous Training (MICT) exercise group 2. No exercise (control) group Follow-up Phase: After completing the metabolic testing post-weight loss, all study-related diet and exercise supervision will end and subjects will be free to make their own choices regarding diet and exercise/physical activity behavior. Subjects will then be asked to complete follow-up testing at 2-, 4- and 6- months post-weight loss. Total involvement in the study for each subject will likely be about 10-13 months (4-7 months during weight loss phase, 6 months during follow-up phase). Read Less

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of a 6-month family-based community intervention to mitigate cardiovascular disease risk factors in Hispanic families in northern Colorado as measured through biometric screenings, body composition, physical activity, and health knowledge. Read Less

The use of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in earlier data has inspired behavioral changes leading to improved adherence to an exercise plan in individuals and eating habits in people with diabetes. Mobile health (mHealth) platforms provide satisfactory, easy-to-use tools to help participants in the pursuit of weight change goals. We hypothesize that the use of CGM data and the Signos mHealth platform will assist with weight control in a population of people with type 2 diabetes mellitus who are not using insulin. Read Less

The purpose of the study is to understand how mothers think and feel about feeding their babies and putting them to sleep, understand more about programs that can support mothers taking care of babies, and how professionals can be most helpful in helping mothers make decisions about their baby's feeding and sleeping. The overarching goal is to prevent early life obesity and progression to metabolic syndrome in high-risk populations, starting with healthy toddler weights by age 2 years. Read Less

The objective of this pilot study is to determine whether obesity and metabolic syndrome are in fact synergistic in relation to airway nitric oxide (NO) biology. To do so, the investigators want to determine how obesity and the metabolic syndrome relate to metabolism in bronchial airway epithelial cells and the nasal epithelium. Read Less

Arterial disease is the leading cause of morbidity/mortality in Metabolic syndrome (MetS). This occurs early as evidenced by arterial dysfunction that, in turn, raises blood pressure and glucose. Health organizations recommend exercise in an intensity based manner to promote cardiovascular adaptation and prevent disease. Metformin is a common anti-diabetes medication that reduces future type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular risk. However, the optimal exercise dose to be combined with metformin for additive effects on vascular function is unknown. Based on the investigator's preliminary work, the overall hypothesis is that metformin blunts adaptation following high intensity exercise training (HiEx) by lowering mitochondrial derived oxidative stress signaling. The investigators further hypothesize that low intensity exercise (LoEx) training combined with metformin will promote additive effects on vascular function compared to LoEx or HiEx+metformin, and maintain/improve non-exercise physical activity patterns. In this double-blind trial, obese 30-60y MetS participants will be randomized to: 1) LoEx+placebo; 2) LoEx+metformin, 3) HiEx+placebo; or 4) HiEx+metformin for 16 weeks. Read Less

This study evaluates the effects of probiotic consumption on inflammatory outcomes and measures of gut health. Participants will be given yogurt with probiotics for one period and yogurt without probiotics for another, with a break in between. These periods will occur in random order. Read Less