The Role of the FTO Gene in Reward System Activation in Obese and Healthy Subjects

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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In order to investigate if individuals, carrying genetic variants predisposing to obesity, respond differently to visual presented food images than non-carriers the investigators aim to screen 500 people for a common risk variant in the FTO gene. From those 500 screened 40 subjects, 20 homozygous for the risk allele and 20 homozygous for a non risk allele will be selected for the second step in the study. This part involves the fMRI technique to visualize the brain response, focus on reward system activation, when food images are visually presented in the scanner. Factors regarding eating behavior, sleep, physical exercise and relation to food are investigated in the first part of the study as well as clinical parameters such as BMI.

Official Title
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Investigating the Role of the FTO Gene in Reward System Activation During Visual Presentation of Food Images With fMRI Technique

Conditions
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Obesity, Eating Behavior

Intervention / Treatment
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* Procedure: Blood sampling for genetic analyse
* Behavioral: Stroop test
* Other: fMRI


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: No medications (except contraceptives including estrogen) No metabolic disorders/diseases Right handed Color vision Normal sleep-wake rhythm (eg. shift workers can not participate) Exclusion Criteria: Specific preferences of food, for example vegetarians Grandparents originating from country outside the Nordic area Metallic implants

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 37 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Basic Science
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Risk allele carriers<br>Individuals homozygous for the risk allele (A/A) The interventions administrated to this group: 'Blood sampling for genetic analyse', 'Stroop test', 'fMRI' | Procedure: Blood sampling for genetic analyse<br>* Blood sampling are performed at the initiation visit in order to screen for allele variants<br>Behavioral: Stroop test<br>* Selective attention test where subjects, in one minute, names the ink color of several words without naming the word itself.<br>Other: fMRI<br>* Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, performed to view brain activity<br>|
| Experimental: Non risk allele carriers<br>Individuals homozygous for the non-risk allele (T/T) The interventions administrated to this group: 'Blood sampling for genetic analyse', 'Stroop test', 'fMRI' | Procedure: Blood sampling for genetic analyse<br>* Blood sampling are performed at the initiation visit in order to screen for allele variants<br>Behavioral: Stroop test<br>* Selective attention test where subjects, in one minute, names the ink color of several words without naming the word itself.<br>Other: fMRI<br>* Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, performed to view brain activity<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Genotyping for variants in the FTO gene associated with overweight and obesity |  | Blood sampling for genetic analyse is performed at the initiation visit |