Conditions: Metabolic Syndrome Insulin Resistance
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 35
Healthy volunteers: yes

Brief summary:
Insulin resistance is a common condition that can lead to type 2 diabetes. One of the commonly prescribed diabetes medications, called rosiglitazone, works by decreasing insulin resistance. Rosiglitazone appears to work on fat cells. Animal studies suggest that rosiglitazone may work by increasing blood vessel growth in fat cells. The purpose of this research is to see if rosiglitazone also increases blood vessel growth in human fat cells. The investigators will compare results from before and after being on rosiglitazone for 6 weeks.

Detailed description:
Adipocytes play a crucial role in the control of metabolic homeostasis, by sequestering excess calories in the form of triglycerides, and secreting cytokines that control systemic fuel utilization. Sustained excess calorie consumption results in adipocyte hypertrophy and hyperplasia, and like any expanding tissue, requires increased capillary expansion to nourish the enlarged adipose tissue mass. Recent reports indicate that decreased capillary density in adipose tissue of obese individuals correlates with insulin resistance, suggesting that an imbalance of angiogenesis and adipogenesis may underlie this condition. To determine whether improvement in insulin sensitivity is related to changes in adipose tissue capillary development, we conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to determine capillary density, angiogenic growth potential, and metabolic parameters in healthy human volunteers before and after treatment with rosiglitazone, a potent insulin sensitizer.

Arms:
arm 1: One 8mg capsule daily for 6 weeks. arm 2: One capsule daily for 6 weeks.

Interventions: intervention 1: Rosiglitazone intervention 2: Placebo
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: One 8mg capsule daily for 6 weeks. intervention 2: One capsule daily for 6 weeks.

Protocol document: