The Autonomic Nervous System and the Metabolic Syndrome

Obesity Clinical Trial

Official title: The Autonomic Nervous System and the Metabolic Syndrome

Status Completed

Clinical Trial Summary

The overall goal of this proposal is to determine the role of the autonomic nervous system in the insulin resistant state associated with obesity and the metabolic syndrome. Obesity results from an accumulation of excessive fat deposit due to increase caloric intake or decrease energy expenditure, this condition is usually associated with diseases such as hypertension or diabetes, a cluster known as the metabolic syndrome. The first step in the development of the metabolic syndrome is a resistance to the action of insulin. The mechanism underlying insulin resistance in obesity is still unknown, however some investigators have proposed that the autonomic nervous system, particularly the increase sympathetic activation in obesity may play an important role. We have extensive experience studying the role of the autonomic nervous system in the cardiovascular alterations associated with obesity by producing complete autonomic withdrawal with a drug named trimethaphan. We propose to use the same approach to study the role of the autonomic nervous system in the development of insulin resistance in obesity.

Clinical Trial Description

The purpose of this study is to look at the role of the autonomic nervous system, an involuntary nervous system that controls your blood pressure, in insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome. Insulin is a substance that helps your body use the sugar in the food that you eat. Some people's tissues stop reacting in a normal way to insulin, a condition known as insulin resistance. A person with insulin resistance can have other health problems, such as obesity, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. These problems together are called the metabolic syndrome. We think that the autonomic or involuntary nervous system controls the way your body responds to insulin. This system is changed in obese people, and we think that it may cause the insulin resistance. We plan to study this with two drugs -trimethaphan and L-NMMA. Neither of these drugs are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and they will be used for research purposes only.

Fifty people will take part in this study. ;

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Single Blind (Subject)

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Metabolic Syndrome X
• Obesity

• NCT number: NCT00580957
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: Vanderbilt University
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: August 2008
• Completion date: May 2015