Metabolic Syndrome Clinical Trials

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

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

People with liver disease report difficulties with attention and problem-solving skills. Diet plays an important role in the development of liver disease and/or pre-diabetes. The purpose of this study is to examine whether participation in a brief diet intervention (up to 3 weeks) can improve brain and liver health and function. Read Less

The objective of this project is to provide evidence that L-Citrulline (CIT) supplementation can improve vascular function in the fasted and acute hyperglycemia conditions in middle-aged and older women with metabolic syndrome. Read Less

Evaluate and compare the health benefits of an at home exercise program using functional electrical stimulation (FES) for lower extremity exercise with diet versus a diet alone group in adults with spinal cord injury. Read Less

Participants will be randomized into one of two different experimental groups: 1) Exercise group and 2) No exercise (control group). Subject participation in the study will involve a series of metabolic tests before and after participants undergo a 10% weight loss program (with or without exercise training depending on group randomization). After completing this weight loss portion of the study, participants will then be required to adhere to a high calorie diet program to regain half of the weight the participant lost - followed by the same series of metabolic tests. Read Less

Metabolic syndrome and resulting downstream health effects remains a growing health concern. In published trials, the use of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) assists behavioral changes efforts, leading to improved adherence and results from diet and exercise changes in individuals with obesity, pre-diabetes and diabetes. Mobile health (mHealth) platforms provide satisfactory, easy-to-use tools that help participants in the pursuit of weight change goals. We hypothesize that the use of CGM data and targeted coaching and nutrition education will assist with weight optimization goals in the general (non-diabetic) population using the Signos mHealth platform, with associated health benefits. Read Less

The overall objective of this clinical study is to determine the feasibility of breast CT for breast density assessment and association of CT-derived density measures with metabolic syndrome in overweight/obese Mexican-origin women in Southern Arizona. These evaluations will help support follow-up clinical research utilizing breast density acquired by breast CT as a surrogate endpoint biomarker to evaluate breast cancer preventive strategies. The long-term goal of these research efforts is to develop safe and effective preventive strategies to reduce obesity-associated breast cancer burden in our catchment area. 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

The purpose of this study is to understand how daily rhythms of behavior affect the expression of genes in fat cells, and how these daily cycles affect the way fat cells respond to insulin (a hormone that controls blood sugar levels) before and after bariatric surgery. Read Less

More than 84 million - or 1 out of every 3 U.S. adults - have prediabetes, a condition that if not treated often leads to type 2 diabetes within five years. Average medical expenditures among diabetics are about 2.3 times higher than expenditures for people without diabetes. Physical inactivity and elevated body mass index (BMI) are major risk factors for the disease. Sedentary behavior is becoming increasingly prevalent with the growth of a 'work from home' culture, most recently driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. Cross-sectional epidemiologic data report significant associations between high amounts of sedentary (sitting) time and prevalent cardiovascular disease and diabetes. In our pilot study of 15 subjects with sedentary office jobs, 6 months of sit-stand desk use resulted in a 23% improvement in insulin resistance, most substantial in those who decreased daily sitting by over 90 minutes/day. Additional improvements in vascular endothelial function and triglyceride levels were seen without any change in exercise activity, step counts, or body weight. These findings not only corroborate epidemiologic findings on this topic but suggest causality and warrant a randomized control trial. The investigators hypothesize that adult subjects at-risk for diabetes will improve insulin sensitivity, metabolic and vascular (endothelial) health with a sit-stand desk intervention at work (whether in the office or at home), in the context of a randomized, controlled trial. The investigators will randomize 198 sedentary office workers with a BMI≥25 at risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus in a 1:1:1 ratio of three groups: (a) sit-stand desk intervention targeting 2 hours standing per day; (b) sit-stand desk intervention targeting 3 hours standing per day; or (c) control arm over 6 months. The block randomization design will allow for important dose-response analyses. The investigators will objectively quantify standing time, sedentary time, sedentary bouts, daily steps, and exercise activity times using a compact and re-usable accelerometer that adheres to the subject's thigh. This will provide objective assessments of activity levels and sedentary times for 7 full days each at baseline, 3 and 6 months. The device is equipped with an inclinometer to classify posture (sitting verses standing). 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