Clinical trial NCT06791837: Brain Blood Flow and Lactate in Non-obese and Obese Subjects
Official title: Cerebral Lactate Uptake and Transport in Obese and Non-Obese Individuals
Study type: OBSERVATIONAL
Overall status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
Conditions: Diabetes
Obesity
Keywords: lactate
obesity
exercise
Lead sponsor: University of Missouri-Columbia
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2025-01-24
Enrollment: 24
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 45
Standard ages: ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Observational model: OTHER
Time perspective: PROSPECTIVE
Sampling method: NON_PROBABILITY_SAMPLE
Study population: Individuals that live in the area of Columbia, MO

Brief summary: Cerebral blood flow (CBF) is essential for maintaining brain health and function, as it ensures delivery oxygen and nutrients necessary to support neuronal activity. Reduced CBF can impair the brain's ability to meet its metabolic demands, leading to deficits in cognitive ability. Impairments in CBF are associated with cognitive decline and neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer's and dementia. Many factors influence CBF, but recently lactate has emerged as a key player. Blood glucose has long been considered the primary fuel for the brain, but emerging evidence indicates that lactate may be the preferred fuel for neurons, and lactate may become even more important under stressful conditions.

Individuals with obesity often have impaired lactate metabolism resulting in higher resting blood lactate concentrations and reduced ability to clear lactate after a physiological stress. At the same time, it is known that exercise is a powerful intervention for improving lactate metabolism.

Thus, this project seeks to investigate the role of lactate in brain blood flow in individuals with and without obesity as well as establish if short term exercise training (individuals with obesity only) will alter circulating lactate concentrations at rest and in response to exercise.

Detailed description: Blood lactate is often considered a waste product from aerobic metabolism. Many people assume it causes fatigue and muscle. Lactate is a signaling molecule in the body. In addition lactate is also a fuel. Evidence supports that lactate may be more important when the brain is stressed. We also know that individuals with obesity and/or type 2 diabetes may have impaired lactate metabolism.

The investigators will compare brain blood flow and lactate response to an exercise stress test and submaximal exercise in obese and non-obese individuals.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

healthy adult men and women 18-45 years of age BMI 18-40 kg/m2 not pregnant, premenopausal with regular menstrual cycles not breastfeeding non-nicotine users

Exclusion Criteria:

medications known to affect sleep, autonomic control, blood lactate levels or metabolic, or cardiovascular function (PI discretion) self-reported history of hepatic, renal, pulmonary, cardiovascular, or neurological disease, stroke or neurovascular disease, bleeding/clotting disorders, sleep apnea or other sleep disorders, diabetes, history of alcoholism or substance abuse major cardiovascular event or surgical procedure within the past three months hypertension (\>140/90 mmHg or at PIs discretion).

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Primary outcomes:
measure: brain blood flow
timeFrame: over the 30 minutes of testing
Secondary outcomes:
measure: lactate concentrations
timeFrame: over ~ 60 minutes of testing
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Columbia
country: United States
facility: University of Missouri
state: Missouri
Study officials:
affiliation: University of Missouri-Columbia
name: Jill Kanaley, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Xue X, Liu B, Hu J, Bian X, Lou S. The potential mechanisms of lactate in mediating exercise-enhanced cognitive function: a dual role as an energy supply substrate and a signaling molecule. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2022 Jul 30;19(1):52. doi: 10.1186/s12986-022-00687-z.
citation: Bouzier-Sore AK, Voisin P, Canioni P, Magistretti PJ, Pellerin L. Lactate is a preferential oxidative energy substrate over glucose for neurons in culture. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2003 Nov;23(11):1298-306. doi: 10.1097/01.WCB.0000091761.61714.25.
citation: Brooks GA, Osmond AD, Arevalo JA, Duong JJ, Curl CC, Moreno-Santillan DD, Leija RG. Lactate as a myokine and exerkine: drivers and signals of physiology and metabolism. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2023 Mar 1;134(3):529-548. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00497.2022. Epub 2023 Jan 12.