Cold-induced Brown Fat Activation and Hepatic Steatosis

Sponsor
Medical University of Vienna
Study ID
NCT03811236
Status
Recruiting
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Conditions

  • Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
18 Years - 50 Years
Healthy Volunteers
Not accepted

Interventions

  • Cold exposure — OTHER
    Two hours of mild cold exposure using a water-perfused vest

Study Details

In the recent years, research on brown adipose tissue (BAT) revealed that larger amounts as well as higher activity thereof are associated with a favourable metabolic phenotype. Longitudinal studies which applied recurrent cooling sessions demonstrated a high plasticity of BAT which significantly increased in size and activity during these studies. These changes were accompanied by improvements in body fat mass as well as insulin sensitivity. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is estimated to advance to the primary cause of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in the following years. Besides predisposing genetic and possibly nutritional factors, the insulin resistance syndrome and obesity are the main factors contributing to this excessive hepatic lipid accumulation. The aim of this study is to investigate whether BAT recruitment via cold-acclimation results in decreased hepatic lipid content in overweight/obese patients with NAFLD.

Key Dates

First listed
Jan 22, 2019
Start date
Jan 21, 2019
Status verified
Mar 2024
Primary completion
Dec 31, 2025
Completion
Dec 31, 2026

Study Design

Enrollment
26 participants (estimated)
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE

Arms

  • Experimental: Cold exposure
  • No Intervention: Room temperature

Primary Outcome Measure

Hepatic lipid content (%) [ Time Frame: Six weeks ]

Central Contacts

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