An observational study in Diabetes and Obesity, sponsored by University of Missouri-Columbia. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 45 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-11-26.
Sponsored by University of Missouri-Columbia · Observational
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.
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.
10,925 studies on the registry are indexed under Diabetes Mellitus; 1,319 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 24 is below the median of 233 across 2,220 observational studies indexed under Diabetes Mellitus.
Browse Diabetes Mellitus studies →University of Missouri-Columbia is the lead sponsor of 357 studies on the registry; 70 are open to participants now.
Of its 42 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 28 (67%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Individuals that live in the area of Columbia, MO
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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individuals with a BMI\<25 kg/m2
Behavioral: EXERCISE
individuals with a BMI 30-40 kg/m2
Behavioral: EXERCISE
each group will undergo a max test and a submaximal exercise test
brain blood flow
Using transcranial doppler we will measure brain blood flow
Time frame: over the 30 minutes of testing
lactate concentrations
Lactate will be measured in response to an exercise stress test as well as to a submaximal exercise bout
Time frame: over ~ 60 minutes of testing
Plan to share: Yes — only coded IPD will be shared that is used in the results published
Supporting information: Study protocol, Sap
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University of Missouri-Columbia