An observational study in Insulin Resistance and Fasting, sponsored by University of Minnesota. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-07-14.
Sponsored by University of Minnesota · Observational
This is an observational study investigating how the metabolic and cell marker changes in Prolonged Fasting in the serum may be used against a cell-based model of disease for therapeutic purposes.
There is potential benefit to prolonged water fasting, fasting with ad libitum water intake and consciously eating little to no food or caloric beverages, with regards to reducing weight, fat mass, insulin resistance and oxidative stress while improving glycemic control. Multiple studies have shown that prolonged water-only Fasting for 5-20 days has been safe in humans. A minimum of 2-3 liters of water intake daily is recommended by previous studies in which longer periods of up to 8 days fasting were observed. Prolonged fasting (36 hours) in humans upregulated multiple bioactive metabolites in the serum; exposure to this serum extended the lifespan of yeast (Caenorhabditis elegans) by 96%. In patients receiving chemotherapy, extended fasting periods of up to 60 hours (36 hours before and 24 hours after chemotherapy) are well-tolerated and reduce chemotherapy-related side effects, similar to shorter fasting durations of 28-48 hours. Herein, we propose an in-depth evaluation of Prolonged Fasting on serum metabolite measures and the effects of these serum metabolites on different cell-based models of disease (i.e. cancer, metabolic syndrome, diabetes). We hypothesize that Prolonged Fasting will alter serum metabolites to favorably improve cell-based models of disease. The significance of this study is to understand the extent of immune system activation and metabolic changes resulting from Prolonged Fasting. This sets the stage for developing tailored interventions to capture the fasting phenotype without the process of actually fasting.
2,969 studies on the registry are indexed under Insulin Resistance; 338 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 14 is below the median of 82 across 478 observational studies indexed under Insulin Resistance.
Browse Insulin Resistance studies →University of Minnesota is the lead sponsor of 1,216 studies on the registry; 197 are open to participants now.
Of its 136 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 95 (70%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Self-reportedly healthy subjects
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.
Exclusion Criteria:
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.
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.
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
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.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Contraindication
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
healthy participants who agree to fast with water for up to 60 hours while wearing continuous glucose monitors
Other: Fasting
fast with water for up to 60 hours while wearing continuous glucose monitors
Feasibility of doing prolonged fasting in this population
measured by % participants completing all the visits
Time frame: Day 4
Exposure of plasma on in vitro breast cancer cell models with regards to cell viability, signaling, function, plasma metabolites, and inflammatory markers
Exposure of cancer cell lines in combination with various doses of chemotherapy agents (e.g., doxorubicin). potential example measures include the following: Serum samples will be analyzed with a Meso Scale Discovery V-PLEX Proinflammatory Panel, which measures the following markers of inflammation: IFN-γ, IL-1β, IL- 2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12p70, IL-13,TNF-α.
Time frame: Baseline
Exposure of plasma on in vitro breast cancer cell models with regards to cell viability, signaling, function, plasma metabolites, and inflammatory markers
Exposure of cancer cell lines in combination with various doses of chemotherapy agents (e.g., doxorubicin). potential example measures include the following: Serum samples will be analyzed with a Meso Scale Discovery V-PLEX Proinflammatory Panel, which measures the following markers of inflammation: IFN-γ, IL-1β, IL- 2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12p70, IL-13,TNF-α.
Time frame: After 60 hours of fasting
Ran from Aug 2025 to primary completion in Mar 2026, 7 months.
Of 130 non-industry observational studies under Insulin Resistance, half reached primary completion within 53 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 18 and three quarters within 142. This study's 7 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 133 studies reached it within 53 months; a quarter within 18 and three quarters within 143.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
This study is completed, as verified in Jul 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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