View clinical trials related to Metabolic Syndrome X.
Filter by:The purpose of our study is to use a flaxseed-based nutritional supplement in combination with exercise training (walking) for improving cholesterol levels. We hypothesize that exercise training will improve cholesterol profile and that adding supplementation with a flaxseed nutritional supplement will further improve cholesterol profile.
Diabetes is prevalent in schizophrenics and may be induced by antipsychotic treatments. Several retrospective studies have suggested that psychiatric patients exposed to atypical antipsychotics may be at a higher risk for developing diabetes and ketoacidosis. The association between these atypical antipsychotics and the onset of diabetes is further strengthened by observations of: 1. the time sequence between the initiation of antipsychotic treatment and the onset of diabetes; 2. remission after the discontinuation of medications; and 3. re-emergence of diabetes following the re-introduction of atypical antipsychotics. The treatment emergent diabetes, along with other metabolic disturbances, represents a serious issue in the use of atypical antipsychotics. Major current debates and unresolved research issues which are also the focus of this proposal, are: 1. schizophrenia per se, versus the use of antipsychotics, in triggering diabetes; 2. whether there are differences between "typicals" and "atypicals" in such an effect; 3. whether there are differences among different "atypicals"; 4. whether, and to what extent, treatment emergent diabetes may be associated with, or independent of, weight gain, which also often is associated with the use of antipsychotics; and 5. genetic and environmental risks in association with treatment emergent diabetes. The policy of some hospitals in Taiwan that discourages the use of atypical antipsychotics for new onset schizophrenia directs the investigators to a study design looking at the associated diabetes of both types of antipsychotics. Such a design may provide some hints to the unresolved research issues mentioned above. Meanwhile, a broader defined term, X-syndrome, or metabolic syndrome, is being used to describe the diabetic condition associated with antipsychotics. X-syndrome is a risky condition leading to cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, with insulin resistance as the major outcome, associated with two of the following conditions: truncal obesity (deposited in the thorax and abdomen, instead of the hips and thighs), high triglycerides, high low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol or hypertension. The proposed study will combine the phenotypes of diabetes and X-syndrome to explore the abnormal metabolism caused by antipsychotics, bridge important information gaps, and provide data contributing towards a better understanding of the risk and management of diabetes and X-syndrome associated with the use of antipsychotics. Three assessment tools, namely the Clinical Global Severity (Clinical Global Impressions - Severity) or the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANNS), the Diabetes Risk Assessment (ADA) and the Life Style Survey, together with physical measurements, collect additional information for this study. Diabetes related biochemistry, including glucose, insulin, leptin, lipids and glycohemoglobin, will be measured to form a composite phenotype for further pharmacogenetic studies. Candidate genes involved in pancreatic beta cell insulin secretion will be examined in priority to see if they play a role in the development of the antipsychotics-induced diabetes.
To investigate the separate effects of the amount of exercise and exercise intensity on cardiovascular risk factors in overweight men and women with mild to moderate dyslipidemia.
The purpose of this trial is to study the safety, tolerability and efficacy of an almond enriched hypocaloric diet on weight loss and weight maintenance, as well as on established and emerging cardiovascular risk factors in approximately 112 overweight and obese persons.
In the present study the investigators are researching the effects of the cholesterol absorption inhibitor ezetimibe on postprandial lipemia and postprandial endothelial function in patients with the metabolic syndrome. The lipid-lowering effect of high-dose statin monotherapy on fasting lipids is equal to the combination therapy of low-dose statin and ezetimibe.
A prolonged elevation of plasma free fatty acids (FFA) impairs glucose stimulated insulin secretion. The concept of fatty acid impairment of glucose stimulated insulin secretion (lipotoxicity) has now been well accepted. Increased free fatty acid flux from adipose tissue to non-adipose tissue, resulting from abnormalities of fat metabolism, participates in and amplifies many of the metabolic derangements that are characteristic of insulin resistance syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Lipotoxicity is also likely to play an important role in the progression from normal glucose tolerance to fasting hyperglycemia and conversion to frank type 2 diabetes in insulin resistant individuals. This area of research is now focused on determining the mechanisms whereby FFAs impair b-cell function. There is some evidence to suggest that lipotoxicity could be mediated through induction of reactive oxygen species (ROS). N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is a known potent antioxidant and has been used experimentally in a number of medical conditions in humans for its protective antioxidant effects. The investigators now plan to administer NAC orally to humans for 48 hours to examine the effects of antioxidant therapy in ameliorating the deleterious effects of FFAs on pancreatic beta cell function. NAC is currently approved for the treatment of acetaminophen overdose and is also used as a mucolytic agent. The investigators are now using NAC as an antioxidant to determine whether it protects the pancreatic beta cell against the toxic effects of FFAs, as outlined in the detailed study protocol. This is a proof-of-principle study and is not designed to develop n-acetylcysteine for therapeutic use.
To examine the effect of three different blood pressure medications on the insulin sensitivity in overweight patients with high blood pressure.
The metabolic syndrome is associated with hyperdynamic circulation and sympathetic activation. Recently, Bakker et al. (Atherosclerosis 2002) described the hypothesis that free fatty acids are responsible for this association. The investigators hypothesize that in patients with obesity and the metabolic syndrome, an increased intracellular concentration of long-chain fatty acyl (LCFA)-CoA (the intracellular equivalent of free fatty acids) induces an increase in adenosine. Adenosine receptor stimulation, in turn, induces vasodilation and sympathetic activation. The investigators aimed to assess this effect of free fatty acids on the adenosine system in healthy volunteers.
The purpose of this study is to define the mechanism(s) through which Obstructive Sleep Apnea/Hypopnea (OSAH) promotes abnormal metabolic processes which characterize the metabolic syndrome. The investigators hypothesize that the sleep fragmentation and intermittent sleep hypoxia which occur in OSAH patients promote oxidative stress and inflammation which in turn lead to insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, abnormal vascular reactivity and other processes which are consistent with the metabolic syndrome.
The aim of this study is to explore the significance of the Lys:Arg ratio on responses of lipids and lipoprotein concentrations to dietary proteins and to evaluate the effects of dietary Lys:Arg on cardiovascular disease risk factors and endothelial function.