An interventional study of Indispensable amino acids supplemntation and Without Indispensable amino acids supplementation in Environmental Enteric Dysfunction, sponsored by Morocco's National Centre for Energy, Sciences and Nuclear Techniques. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in Morocco. Open to participants aged 18 Months to 36 Months. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-12-01.
Sponsored by Morocco's National Centre for Energy, Sciences and Nuclear Techniques · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care
In Morocco, large efforts have been made to enhance nutritional status and health conditions of children. Accordingly, stunting was reduced and the prevalence of stunting have decreased from 28,6% in 1987 to 14,9% in 2011. Many factors, including improved nutrition, have influenced this decrease, and are reinforced to maintain this low prevalence of stunting. Of interest, quality diet, specifically with reference to its protein quality, has contributed to improve the nutritional status of the Moroccan population. However, infectious diseases are still important and in some areas many children are of high risk to develop EED that alter intestinal permeability and microbial translocation, and lead to systemic inflammation. During childhood, protein supply is of a great interest and indigestibility of these proteins and/or malabsorption of indispensable amino acids will affect children growth and many physiological and cognitive functions. This project was planned to assess indispensable amino acids during EED and to to assess the impact of some interventions (amino acids supplementation / medical treatment) on the nutritional status of children.
This study will be carried out according to a trilogy of close collaboration between CNESTEN, Pr Claire Gaudichon from AgroParisTech (France) who will provide technical assistance and scientific accompaniment during the progress of the project, she will also participate in the data analysis, exploitation and valorization of results and the department of Pediatric Hepatology Gastroenterology and Nutrition-P III at the Children's Hospital in Rabat.
The investigators will conduct a randomized controlled trial to determine if indispensable amino acid (IAA) supplementation can improve intestinal barrier dysfunction in Moroccan patients aged 18-36-month-old with stunting or severe stunting. The primary endpoint will be change in gut permeability as assessed by the lactulose/rhamnose (LR) ratio, while secondary endpoint will focus on change in amino acid absorption using an isotope tracer test. IAA supplementation will be given daily for 28 days, and evaluation of the major endpoints will be at baseline and 28 days
This is the only study on the registry with Morocco's National Centre for Energy, Sciences and Nuclear Techniques as lead sponsor.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
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.
A biopsy takes a small piece of tissue to examine. “Archival tissue” is a sample already taken, for example at diagnosis, and kept by the hospital.
Whether a stored sample will do depends on when it was taken, how much there is and what the study needs. Ask whether the study accepts your stored sample or needs a new biopsy.
Biopsy and archival tissue
A biopsy takes a small piece of tissue to examine. “Archival tissue” is a sample already taken, for example at diagnosis, and kept by the hospital.
Whether a stored sample will do depends on when it was taken, how much there is and what the study needs. Ask whether the study accepts your stored sample or needs a new biopsy.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
18-36-month-old children will receive daily 100 ml of milk supplemented with IAA
Dietary Supplement: Indispensable amino acids supplemntation
18-36 months-aged children will receive only milk
Dietary Supplement: Without Indispensable amino acids supplementation
18-36-month-old children in the intervention arm will receive milk with IAA supplementation for 28 days, while children in the control group will receive only milk for the same duration
18-36-month-old children in the intervention arm will receive milk with IAA supplementation for 28 days, while children in the control group will receive milk without IAA during the same duration
Also known as: IAA supplemntation
Use of the lactulose/rhamnose (LR) ratio to assess improvement in gut permeability among stunted Moroccan children aged 18-36 months after 28 days of Indispensable Amino Acids (IAA) supplementation.
The purpose of this measure is to assess gut permeability efficiency and whether supplementation with IAA can improve it. In fact, the lactulose/rhamnose (LR) ratio or the dual-sugar test is a non-invasive test used to measure intestinal permeability. It works by orally administering of two inert sugar molecules, lactulose and rhamnose, then measuring their excretion in urine; a higher LR ratio suggests increased intestinal permeability, often indicating damage to the gut lining. This test is useful in research and clinical settings for assessing conditions that affect the small intestine.
Time frame: The procedure involves assessing gut permeability at enrolment and again after 28 days of IAA supplementation.
Use of Dual-Stable Isotope Test (DSIT) to assess improvement of the true ileal bioavailability of IAA among stunted Moroccan children aged 18-36 months after 28 days of IAA supplementation.
The purpose of this measure is to assess the rate of IAA bioavailability and determine whether IAA supplementation can improve it. To this end, the Dual-Stable Isotope Test (DSIT) will be used. The DSIT is a minimally invasive method for measuring the true ileal bioavailability of IAAs in humans, using a meal containing both the 2H-labeled test protein and the 13C-labeled reference protein. In this study, children will consume a test meal (milk) containing both the 2H-AA mix (1.25 mg/kg body weight) and the U-13C spirulina (10 mg/kg body weight). To carry out this technique, two blood (plasma) samples will be collected, one before the meal is administrated and the second 5hours after afterwards. A portion of the meal will be frozen at -80°C for later analysis of the two isotopes. The bioavailability of each IAA is calculated by comparing the ratio of the two isotopes in the plasma samples to their ratio in the original test meal.
Time frame: The procedure involves assessing the rate of IAA bioavailability at enrolment and again after 28 days of IAA supplementation.
Plan to share: No — Only scientific results will be published
Start is estimated for Dec 2025; primary completion for Mar 2026, 3 months later.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Nov 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.