An interventional study of EXERCISE TRAINING WITH OR WITHOUT MEDICATION in To Determine Whether Estrogen Influences the Effects of Training on Glycemic Control and Insulin Sensitivity, sponsored by University of Waterloo. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in Canada. Open to male participants aged 18 Years to 35 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-08-27.
Sponsored by University of Waterloo · Not applicable, Interventional, and Basic science
Previous research has found that males and females respond differently to exercise training, particularly with respect to improvements in blood sugar control and immune system health. This is crucial since insulin resistance, which can lead to type 2 diabetes and other health problems, affects millions of Canadians. People with insulin resistance often have higher inflammation. Exercise is known to improve insulin resistance and reduce inflammation, but females seem to benefit less from exercise compared to men. The investigators believe this difference might be due to estrogen, a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar (in non-exercising conditions) and reduce inflammation. Females have higher estrogen levels, which might explain their ability to regulate resting blood sugar control and also immune function at rest. Our research will investigate how estrogen influences the acute and chronic effects of exercise males. The investigators will study how estrogen influence's the body's response to exercise, particularly in terms of reducing inflammation and improving blood sugar levels as well as immune function. Overweight and obese males will undergo 2 weeks of high intensity interval training while taking either an estrogen supplement or placebo. Prior to and following training males will undergo an assessment of maximal fitness (VO2max test) and an oral glucose tolerance test. Prior to and following the acute exercise test blood samples will be taken to determine the acute effects of exercise on immune cell function and inflammation. Prior to and during the oral glucose tolerance test participants will have blood samples taken to determine glucose handling and insulin sensitivity. They will also have a muscle biopsy taken prior to and 1h into the oral glucose tolerance test to determine the effects of estrogen supplementation on insulin signaling, mitochondrial content and function, fat metabolism and fat storage in skeletal muscle.
2,969 studies on the registry are indexed under Insulin Resistance; 338 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 24 is below the median of 40 across 2,369 interventional studies indexed under Insulin Resistance.
Browse Insulin Resistance studies →University of Waterloo is the lead sponsor of 90 studies on the registry; 7 are open to participants now.
Of its 12 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 9 (75%) have results posted.
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.
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.
Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.
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.
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.
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.
Platelets
Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
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.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
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.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
1mg/d 17-beta estradiol x 2 day and 2mg/d 17-beta estradiol for 14 days
Other: EXERCISE TRAINING WITH OR WITHOUT MEDICATION
400mg/d of glucose polymer x 16 days
Other: EXERCISE TRAINING WITH OR WITHOUT MEDICATION
2 weeks of high intensity interval training while either taking estrogen or placebo
Glucose AUC
Glucose AUC determined from blood samples taken during a 2h oral glucose tolerance test
Time frame: Visit 3 (baseline) and Visit 11 (Day 16)
Insulin resistance/sensitivity
at rest (HOMA-IR) and during a 2 h oral glucose tolerance test (Matsuda index)
Time frame: Visit 3 (baseline) and Visit 11 (Day 16)
Markers of insulin signaling
Western blot of the following markers: AMPKα Thr172 \& total AMPKα; phosphorylated Akt Ser437 \& total Akt; phosphorylated TBC1D4 Thr642 \& total TBC1D4; phosphorylated TBC1D1 Ser237 \& total TBC1D; total GLUT4 in human skeletal muscle in the fasted and insulin stimulated state
Time frame: Visit 3 (baseline) and Visit 11 (Day 16)
Membrane bound GLUT4
GLUT4 content at the membrane in the fasted and insulin stimulated state (determined via immunofluorescence)
Time frame: Visit 3 (baseline) and Visit 11 (Day 16)
Peripheral blood mononuclear cells
determination of immune cell response to acute exercise
Time frame: Visit 2 (baseline) and Visit 10 (Day 14)
Plasma cytokines from isolated PBMCs
pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine content will be determine using a cytokine array and commercially available kits
Time frame: Visit 2 (baseline) and Visit 10 (Day 14)
Mitochondrial content
determined using electron microscopy
Time frame: Visit 3 (baseline) and Visit 11 (Day 16)
Mitochondrial respiration
skeletal muscle mitochondrial respiration determined using high-resolution respirometry
Time frame: Visit 3 (baseline) and Visit 11 (Day 16)
intramyocellular lipid (IMCL) content
total and subcellular location-specific content and storage characteristics
Time frame: Visit 3 (baseline) and Visit 11 (Day 16)
aerobic fitness (VO2max)
VO2max determined during a graded exercise test
Time frame: Visit 2 (baseline) and Visit 10 (Day 14)
Sex hormone concentrations
Serum estradiol measured using commercially available kits
Time frame: Visit 3 (baseline) and Visit 11 (Day 16)
Serum hormone concentrations
Serum progesterone measured using commercially available kits
Time frame: Visit 3 (baseline) and Visit 11 (Day 16)
Sex hormone concentrations
Serum testosterone measured using commercially available kits
Time frame: Visit 3 (baseline) and Visit 11 (day 16)
Serum hormone concentrations
Serum growth hormone measured using commercially available kits prior to a maximal graded exercise test and immediately (t=0 min), 30 and 60 min after the graded exercise test.
Time frame: Visit 2 (baseline) and visit 10 (day 14)
Serum hormone concentrations
Serum glucagon measured using commercially available kits prior to a maximal graded exercise test and immediately (t=0 min), 30 and 60 min after the graded exercise test.
Time frame: Visit 2 (baseline) and visit 10 (Day 14)
Neurotransmitter concentration
Serum epinephrine concentration measured using a commercially available kit prior to a maximal graded exercise test and immediately (t=0 min), 30 and 60 min after the graded exercise test.
Time frame: Visit 2 (baseline) and Visit 10 (day 14)
PDFs hosted by the registry, ClinicalTrials.gov.
Plan to share: No
Start is estimated for Aug 2026; primary completion for Apr 2027, 8 months later.
Of 714 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Insulin Resistance, half reached primary completion within 22 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 10 and three quarters within 41. This study's planned 8 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 754 studies reached it within 21 months; a quarter within 9 and three quarters within 40.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Aug 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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