ClinicalTrials.gg
TerminatedNCT06606327DzSTUpdated Aug 7, 2026

Diazoxide Suppression Test P&F Study

A Phase 1 interventional study of Diazoxide, 3 mg/kg per dose in Insulin Resistance, Hyperinsulinemia and Obesity, sponsored by Columbia University. Terminated at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-08-07.

Sponsored by Columbia University · Phase 1, Interventional, and Basic science

Why this study was terminated
Reprioritization of research efforts
Phase
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
1
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years to 65 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The goal of this study is to learn about how the hormone insulin controls blood sugar. The main question it aims to answer is about how much insulin the body actually needs to maintain a normal blood sugar level. People with obesity and high insulin levels will receive eight doses of diazoxide, a drug that suppresses the pancreas's production of insulin, and will have their fasting blood sugar and insulin levels checked daily while taking the drug.

Read the detailed description

The investigators are interested in determining to what extent the hyperinsulinemia commonly associated with insulin resistance (IR) in those at risk for type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a primary phenomenon, rather than merely a secondary, compensatory response to IR. The study hypothesis is that some people with obesity and hyperinsulinemia exhibit a primary, non-compensatory hyperinsulinemia that may foment IR and its dysmetabolic sequelae. If this were the case, lowering insulin levels should not result in a proportional rise in blood glucose as might be expected if the hyperinsulinemia truly were purely compensatory. This hypothesis has been difficult to prove, however, because of the tight feedback mechanism between blood glucose and insulin secretion; under normal circumstances insulin secretion declines only alongside blood glucose. As such, an attempt to lower insulin levels independently of blood glucose will raise blood glucose and trigger further insulin secretion, negating the purpose of the experiment. In order to circumvent this feedback regulation of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, the study team has developed a modification of the insulin suppression test (IST) called the "graded IST" (GIST) that suppresses endogenous insulin secretion with octreotide and then measures steady-state plasma glucose (SSPG) at both replacement euinsulinemia and hyperinsulinemia. It is expected that some people with high insulin levels at baseline will not demonstrate a prominent rise in SSPG even when their insulin levels are lowered. However, the GIST is a cumbersome procedure that is difficult to scale for larger study populations. As such, the investigators are also working to develop an outpatient diazoxide suppression test (DzST) that suppresses endogenous insulin secretion with the oral insulin anti-secretagogue diazoxide rather than octreotide, and will validate it against the incipient "gold-standard" GIST. GIST participants found to have evidence of primary hyperinsulinemia (i.e., euinsulinemic euglycemia or near-euglycemia despite baseline hyperinsulinemia) will, several weeks later, take diazoxide 3 mg/kg per dose, twice daily, for four days. The investigators will check fasting glucose and insulin levels daily at baseline and then after each of the four days of diazoxide administration. The investigators expect that suppression of insulin secretion with diazoxide will, in accordance with the GIST, lead to no significant rise in blood glucose in people who have true primary hyperinsulinemia.

02

Conditions studied

  • Insulin Resistance
  • Hyperinsulinemia
  • Obesity

Keywords

  • Insulin resistance
  • Hyperinsulinemia
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Obesity
03

In context

Insulin Resistance

2,969 studies on the registry are indexed under Insulin Resistance; 338 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 1 is below the median of 40 across 2,369 interventional studies indexed under Insulin Resistance.

Browse Insulin Resistance studies →

Lead sponsor

Columbia University is the lead sponsor of 1,136 studies on the registry; 195 are open to participants now.

Of its 180 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 148 (82%) have results posted.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Men and women, aged 18-65 years
  • of 30-45 kg/m2
  • Able to understand written and spoken English and/or Spanish
  • Fasting hyperinsulinemia (fasting serum insulin ≥ 13 μU/mL)
  • Completion of the graded insulin suppression test (GIST) protocol (Group H)
  • Written (in English or Spanish) and any locally required authorization (e.g., Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) obtained from the participant prior to performing any protocol-related procedures, including screening evaluations.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Unable to provide in English or Spanish
  • Documented weight loss of ≥ 5% of baseline within the previous 3 months
  • Abnormal blood pressure (including on treatment, if prescribed): Systolic blood pressure \< 90 mm Hg or > 160 mm Hg, and/or Diastolic blood pressure \< 60 mm Hg or > 100 mm Hg
  • Abnormal resting heart rate: \< 60 or ≥ 110 bpm
  • Sinus brady- or tachycardia that has been worked up and considered benign by the recruit's personal physician may be permitted at the PI's discretion
  • Abnormal screening on GIST screening (or if on file, performed within previous 90 d):

    • Non-sinus rhythm
    • Heart conduction blocks
    • Previously unknown ischaemic changes that persist on repeat EKG:
    • ST elevations
    • T-wave inversions in a vascular distribution
  • Laboratory evidence of dysglycemia on GIST screening:

    • ≥ 5.7%, and/or
    • Fasting plasma glucose ≥ 100 mg/dL
  • Positive qualitative β-hCG (i.e., pregnancy test) in women of (both on the day of screening and on the first day of the DzST, prior to receipt of diazoxide doses)
  • Positive urine drug screen during GIST screening or on first day of DzST, except for lawfully prescribed medications and/or marijuana, provided that participant agrees to refrain from marijuana use during the period that they refrain from alcohol.
  • Liver function abnormalities (either of the following) on GIST screening:

    • Transaminases ( or ALT) > 3.0 x the
    • Total > 1.25 x the upper limit of normal
    • These exclusion criteria may be waived if the recruit's personal hepatologist approves an exception
  • Abnormal screening serum electrolytes (any of the following) on GIST screening:

    • Abnormal sodium, potassium, chloride, or bicarbonate levels that are considered potentially significant according to the clinical judgment of the PI.
    • Creatinine equating to estimated \< 60 mL/min/1.73 m2
  • Uric acid level above the upper limit of normal
  • Women currently pregnant, measured by serum and/or urine β-hCG at DzST screening (and on first study visit of DzST)
  • Women currently breastfeeding
  • History of having met any of the American Diabetes Association's definitions of prediabetic state or diabetes mellitus (i.e., overt diabetes):

    • Hemoglobin A1c ≥ 5.7%, or rapid rise in documented HbA1c values causing clinical concern for evolving insulin deficiency
    • Plasma glucose ≥ 100 mg/dL after 8-h fast
    • Plasma glucose of ≥ 140 mg/dL at 2 h after ingestion of a 75-g glucose load
    • Random plasma glucose ≥ 200 mg/dL associated with typical hyperglycemic symptoms, diabetic ketoacidosis, or hyperglycemic-hyperosmolar state
  • History of gestational diabetes mellitus within the previous 5 years
  • Use of most antidiabetic medications within the 30 days prior to screening

    • Excluded: thiazolidinediones, sulfonylureas, meglitinides, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4) inhibitors, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, amylin mimetics, acarbose, insulin
    • Metformin is acceptable provided that recruits meet all of the inclusion criteria at screening
  • Pancreatic pathology, including but not limited to:

    • Pancreatic neoplasia, unless appropriately evaluated and considered benign and not producing hormones
    • Chronic pancreatitis
    • History of acute pancreatitis within the past 5 years
  • Cardiovascular diseases (N.B. uncomplicated hypertension is not exclusionary)
  • Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease
  • Stable or unstable angina
  • Myocardial infarction
  • Ischaemic or hemorrhagic stroke
  • Peripheral arterial disease (claudication)
  • Use of dual antiplatelet therapy
  • History of percutaneous coronary intervention
  • Heart rhythm abnormalities (non-sinus)
  • Congestive heart failure of any class
  • Severe valvular heart disease (e.g., aortic stenosis)
  • Pulmonary hypertension
  • Chronic kidney disease, Stage 3 or higher (estimated glomerular filtration rate \< 60 mL/min/1.73 m2), of any cause
  • Advanced or severe liver disease, including but not limited to:

    • Advanced liver fibrosis, as determined by non-invasive testing
    • Cirrhosis of any etiology
    • hepatitis or other rheumatologic disorder affecting the liver
    • Biliopathy (e.g., progressive sclerosing cholangitis, primary biliary cholangitis)
    • Hepatocellular carcinoma
    • Infiltrative disorders (e.g., sarcoidosis, hemochromatosis, Wilson disease)
    • Gout
    • Chronic viral illness (N.B. diagnosis based only on medical history; investigators will not test for any of these viruses at any point in this study)
    • virus (HBV), unless previously successfully eradicated with antiviral drugs that have been discontinued for at least 30 d prior to screening
    • virus (HCV) infection, unless previously successfully eradicated with antiviral drugs that have been discontinued for at least 30 d prior to screening
    • (HIV) infection
  • Active seizure disorder (including controlled with antiepileptic drugs)
  • Psychiatric diseases causing functional impairment that:

    • Are or have been decompensated within 1 year of screening, and/or
    • Require use of anti-dopaminergic antipsychotic drugs associated with significant weight gain/metabolic dysfunction (e.g., clozapine, olanzapine), monoamine oxidase inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, or lithium
  • Cushing syndrome (okay if considered in remission after treatment, provided that no exogenous or other ongoing treatment are required)
  • Adrenal insufficiency
  • Active , or hormonally active benign neoplasm, except allowances for:

    • Non-melanoma skin cancer
    • Differentiated thyroid cancer (AJCC Stage I only)
  • Clinical concern for increased risk of volume overload, including due to medications and/or heart/liver/kidney problems, as listed above
  • Use of certain medications currently or within 30 d prior to screening:

    • Prescribed medications used for any of the indications in the preceding list of excluded conditions, or their use within 30 d prior to screening, except allowances for use of drugs prescribed for indications other than the exclusionary diagnoses/purposes listed above (e.g., antiepileptic drugs used for non-seizure indications, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers used for uncomplicated hypertension rather than for congestive heart failure, etc.)
    • Oral or parenteral corticosteroids (at greater than prednisone 5 mg daily, or equivalent) for more than 3 days within the previous 30 days; topical and inhaled formulations are permitted
  • History of certain weight-loss (bariatric) surgery, including:

    • Roux-en-Y gastric bypass
    • Biliopancreatic diversion
    • Restrictive procedures (lap band, sleeve gastrectomy) performed within the past 6 months
  • Clinical concern for alcohol overuse, including recent documented history during screening and/or participant report of regularly consuming more than 2 drinks per day for males or 1 drink per day for females.
  • Positive urine drug screen, with exceptions for:

    • Lawfully prescribed medications
    • Marijuana/THC positivity, provided that the participant agrees not to use it during the same period that they will abstain from alcohol
  • History of severe infection or ongoing febrile illness within 14 days of screening
  • Any other disease, condition, or laboratory value that, in the opinion of the investigator, would place the participant at an unacceptable risk and/or interfere with the analysis of study data.
  • Known allergy/ to any component of the medicinal product formulations (including sulfa drugs) or ongoing allergy/hypersensitivity as judged by the investigator.
  • Concurrent enrollment in another clinical study of any drug therapy within 30 days prior to screening or within 5 half-lives of an investigational agent, whichever is longer. This restriction does not apply to participants who have participated in other studies performed by the PI (Dr. Cook).
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(19)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

BMI (body mass index)

Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.

What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

ECG (electrocardiogram)

A recording of the heart’s electrical activity, taken with stickers on the chest, arms and legs. It takes a few minutes and does not hurt.

HbA1c

A blood test of average blood sugar over the past two to three months, given as a percentage or in mmol/mol. 6.5% (48 mmol/mol) or more is the usual threshold for diabetes, normally confirmed by a second test.

Childbearing potential

Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).

Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.

ALT and AST (liver enzymes)

Two enzymes measured in a routine blood test of the liver. Higher levels can mean the liver is under strain or damaged. SGPT and SGOT are older names for ALT and AST.

Criteria usually give a limit as a multiple of the upper limit of normal (ULN), often higher when cancer has spread to the liver.

ULN (upper limit of normal)

The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.

“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.

Bilirubin

A yellow substance made when red blood cells are broken down, which the liver clears. A high level can mean a problem with the liver or the bile ducts.

Criteria often allow more for people with Gilbert’s syndrome, a harmless inherited condition that raises bilirubin.

GFR and eGFR (kidney filtering)

GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².

Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.

NYHA class (heart failure)

The New York Heart Association’s four classes of how much heart failure limits physical activity.

I
No limits: ordinary activity causes no undue tiredness or breathlessness.
II
Slight limits: comfortable at rest, ordinary activity causes symptoms.
III
Marked limits: comfortable at rest, less than ordinary activity causes symptoms.
IV
Symptoms even at rest; any activity makes them worse.

Studies set their own limit — many outside heart failure leave out class III–IV, while heart failure studies may ask for a particular class. Check the class this study names.

Autoimmune disease

A condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.

Immunotherapy studies often leave out active autoimmune disease, and some name exceptions, such as thyroid disease on replacement hormone. Check the exceptions this study lists.

Hepatitis B tests

Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. These are separate tests: HBsAg positive usually means a current infection (a recent vaccination can briefly cause it too); total anti-HBc (HBcAb) positive means an infection now or in the past; HBV DNA measures how much virus is in the blood.

Some studies accept a past infection if HBV DNA is undetectable, sometimes with antiviral medicine during the study. Check what this study allows.

Hepatitis C tests

Hepatitis C is a virus that infects the liver. An HCV antibody test can stay positive after an infection has cleared (and is occasionally positive without one); an HCV RNA test shows whether the virus is there now.

After treatment, hepatitis C counts as cured when HCV RNA is still undetectable 12 weeks or more after the treatment ended. Studies often accept people cured this way.

HIV

The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system.

Many studies now accept people whose HIV is controlled on treatment, judged by the viral load and the CD4 count. Check the limits this study sets.

Corticosteroids (steroids)

Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.

Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.

Cancer (malignancy)

Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.

Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.

Hypersensitivity

An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.

Clinically significant

Judged by the study doctor to matter for your health or for the study. It is a doctor’s decision, so ask the study team if you are unsure whether something counts.

Investigational drug or device

A drug or device being studied in a clinical trial.

It may be new, or already approved and being studied for another use, dose or form. Criteria often leave out people who took part in another study of one within a recent period, commonly 30 days or five half-lives.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 1
Primary purpose
Basic science
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
1 participant (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Diazoxide

    Subjects will take diazoxide oral suspension at 3 mg/kg per dose for 4 days (total of 8 doses)

    Drug: Diazoxide, 3 mg/kg per dose

Interventions

  • DrugDiazoxide, 3 mg/kg per dose

    Drug page: Diazoxide

    Insulin anti-secretagogue taken for 8 doses over 4 days

    Also known as: Proglycem

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Fasting plasma glucose

    Plasma glucose level after overnight fast (units: mg/dL)

    Time frame: Baseline and after 4 days of diazoxide treatment

  2. Fasting serum insulin

    Serum insulin level after overnight fast (units: µU/mL)

    Time frame: Baseline and after 4 days of diazoxide treatment

Secondary outcomes

  1. Fasting serum C-peptide

    Serum C-peptide level after overnight fast (units: ng/mL)

    Time frame: Baseline and after 4 days of diazoxide treatment

  2. Fasting serum triglyceride

    Serum triglyceride level after overnight fast (units: mg/dL)

    Time frame: Baseline and after 4 days of diazoxide treatment

  3. Fasting plasma free fatty acids (FFA)

    FFA level after overnight fast (units: mmol/L)

    Time frame: Baseline and after 4 days of diazoxide treatment

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Columbia University Irving Medical Center
    New York, New York 10032, United States
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Yes — Participant-level clinical data will be preserved by depositing the deidentified data to Dryad, a generalist repository that is participating in the NIH Generalist Repository Ecosystem Initiative. The repository will provide metadata, persistent identifiers, and long-term access for open and controlled access. Each study created in Dryad is assigned a digital object identifier (DOI). This data DOI will be referenced in the publication to allow the research community easy access to the exact data used in the publication. To protect research participants' privacy and confidentiality, data submitted to the repository will not include personally identifiable information such as names or addresses. Additional protections, such as the approach for managing Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act identifiers, will be used for de-identification and to provide a limited data set to minimize the risk of participant reidentification.

Time frame: Scientific data will be shared as soon as possible. Scientific data included in published manuscripts will be available at the time of publication; all other generated scientific data will be shared no later than the end of the award. The study data will be stored in the repository for at least 5 years.

Access criteria: To request access of the data, researchers will use the standard processes at Dryad. Given that we seek the widest possible availability, in most cases all that is necessary is obtaining a Dryad account from the repository web site.

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reached

Ran from Oct 2024 to primary completion in Jun 2026, 19 months.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Sep 18, 2024
First posted
Sep 23, 2024
StartActual
Oct 23, 2024
Primary completionActual
Jun 10, 2026
CompletionActual
Jun 10, 2026
Last update
Aug 7, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Aug 7, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06606327
Collaborators
University of Pisa
Responsible party
Joshua Cook (Assistant Professor of Medicine, Columbia University) — Principal investigator
First posted
Sep 23, 2024
Start date
Oct 23, 2024
Primary completion
Jun 10, 2026
Completion
Jun 10, 2026
Last update
Aug 7, 2026

Study contacts

Joshua R Cook, MD, PhD
principal investigator · Columbia University

Oversight

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

Not currently enrolling

This study is terminated, as verified in Aug 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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Studies of the drug tested here: Diazoxide

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