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Not yet recruitingNCT04279743Updated May 7, 2020

Fatty Acid Metabolism in Carriers of Apolipoprotein E Epsilon 4 Allele: Determining the Blood-to-brain Link

An interventional study of omega-3 phospholipids and omega-3 Triglycerides in Healthy, sponsored by Université de Sherbrooke. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in Canada. Open to participants aged 30 Years to 50 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2020-05-07.

Sponsored by Université de Sherbrooke · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was expected by Apr 2025, 1 year 6 months ago, but the record still lists the study as not yet recruiting.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
160
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
30 Years to 50 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

In Canada, \~17 millions of adults between 30-64 y old could benefit from a prevention strategy to lower the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although a lot of epidemiological studies reported positive cognitive outcomes in populations eating fish, there is skepticism about the link between docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 (OM3) fatty acid in fish and prevention of cognitive decline. This is largely because there is a disconnect between epidemiological, molecular and animal studies which generally favor a link between higher DHA intake and cognition whereas clinical DHA and fish oil trial seem not to support such as link. There are several knowledge gaps in this field that might explain why clinical trials were not successful. This project will focus on two major gaps : OM3 fatty acid metabolism and the blood-to-brain DHA link. OM3 supplements in cardiovascular disease have faced the same issues for decades but the more recent trials have now generated the clinical evidence supporting primary and secondary cardiovascular events reduction and a better risk to benefit balance of OM3 drugs compared to statins, for instance. What if, for cognitive decline, the target was missed because the supplement/drug formulations were not appropriately designed to target the brain? The investigators hypothesize that (i) E4 carriers display a faulty packaging of circulating OM3, leading to reduced bioavailability for brain cells, (ii) The use of new OM3 formulation can direct plasma DHA into brain compartments more readily available for the brain, thereby increasing brain DHA concentrations and improving cognition. Studies in mice and humans will be performed to test OM3 metabolism and the blood-to-brain DHA link. Ultimately the information generated in this research project will help to better design clinical trials in term of fatty acid formulation, expected level to reach in the plasma and the brain.

02

Conditions studied

  • Healthy
03

In context

Lead sponsor

Université de Sherbrooke is the lead sponsor of 289 studies on the registry; 68 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
30 Years to 50 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

  • Men and women aged between 30-50 years old.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Tobacco use,
  • Malnutrition (assessed from blood albumin, hemoglobin and lipids),
  • Diabetes,
  • Participants taking an EPA+DHA supplement or consuming more than 2 fish meals per week,
  • Uncontrolled thyroid, renal and endocrine disorder disease,
  • Chronic immune condition or inflammation (CRP > 10 mg/l, white cell count),
  • Cancer,
  • Recent major surgery or cardiac event,
  • Pregnant or lactating women,
  • Pre-menopause or menopause,
  • Dementia,
  • Ongoing or past severe drug or alcohol abuse,
  • Psychiatric difficulties or major depression
  • Ongoing or past intensive physical training.
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Quadruple (Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
160 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    ApoE4 carriers

    The results obtained for APOE4 carriers will be compared to the one obtained from APOE4 non-carriers. Carriers are defined as being at least carrier of one APOE4 allele.

    Dietary Supplement: omega-3 phospholipids · Dietary Supplement: omega-3 Triglycerides

  • Experimental
    ApoE4 non carriers

    The results obtained for APOE4 carriers will be compared to the one obtained from APOE4 non-carriers. Carriers are defined as being at least carrier of one APOE4 allele.

    Dietary Supplement: omega-3 phospholipids · Dietary Supplement: omega-3 Triglycerides

Interventions

  • Dietary supplementomega-3 phospholipids

    The intervention is a randomized double blind parallel design testing the metabolism of a krill oil omega-3 phospholipid supplement compared to fish oil omega-3 triglycerides in carriers and non-carriers of the ApoE4 allele. Half of the carriers and non-carriers will receive phospholipids and the other half will receive triglycerides. The intervention choice will be randomized and double blind. Participants will be instructed to take 4 supplements every day (2 in the morning and 2 in the evening) (4 g/ day of phospholipids), providing 1.8 g/day of omega-3 fatty acids. They will come back fasted to the research center on weeks 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 and 12 of the study for blood draws. The omega-3 fatty acids metabolism will be compared between the carriers and non carriers of the ApoE4 allele.

  • Dietary supplementomega-3 Triglycerides

    The intervention is a randomized double blind parallel design testing the metabolism of a krill oil omega-3 phospholipid supplement compared to fish oil omega-3 triglycerides in carriers and non-carriers of the ApoE4 allele. Half of the carriers and non-carriers will receive phospholipids and the other half will receive triglycerides. The intervention choice will be randomized and double blind. Participants will be instructed to take 4 supplements every day (2 in the morning and 2 in the evening), providing 1.8 g/day of omega-3 fatty acids. They will come back fasted to the research center on weeks 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 and 12 of the study for blood draws. The omega-3 fatty acids metabolism will be compared between the carriers and non carriers of the ApoE4 allele.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. DHA levels in LPC and FFA

    To evaluate plasma DHA levels in lysophosphatidylcholine and free fatty acids by ApoE genotype and treatment intervention.

    Time frame: baseline, 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 and 12 weeks after baseline

  2. EPA levels in LPC and FFA

    To evaluate plasma EPA levels in lysophosphatidylcholine and free fatty acids by ApoE genotype and treatment intervention.

    Time frame: baseline, 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 and 12 weeks after baseline

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Centre de Recherche sur le Vieillissement
    Sherbrooke, Quebec J1H 4C4, Canada
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 7, 2020, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04279743
Lead sponsor
Université de Sherbrooke
Responsible party
Mélanie Plourde (Principal investigator, Université de Sherbrooke) — Principal investigator
First posted
Feb 21, 2020
Start date
Aug 1, 2020 (estimated)
Primary completion
Apr 1, 2025 (estimated)
Completion
Apr 1, 2025 (estimated)
Last update
May 7, 2020

Study contacts

Melanie Plourde, PhD
Contact
Melanie.Plourde2@USherbrooke.ca
819-780-2220 ext. 45664
Melanie Plourde, PhD
principal investigator · Université de Sherbrooke

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in May 2020. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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