The Physiologic Effects of Intranasal Oxytocin on Sarcopenic Obesity
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2019-12-17
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Obesity is highly prevalent in older adults and is a major cause of sarcopenia and disability
in older adults. Although exercise can counteract the effects of obesity and sarcopenia, many
have difficulty adhering to an exercise program and the benefits of exercise are variable.
Therefore, there is an urgent need to test novel pharmacologic interventions to prevent
disability and loss of independence. Oxytocin is a pituitary hormone released during
parturition and lactation that is also known to suppress appetite in rodents and humans; and,
recent small studies have found that intranasal oxytocin reduces body weight in adults. We
propose a pilot study of intranasal oxytocin as a novel approach to promote weight loss and
increase muscle mass in older subjects with sarcopenic obesity.
Phase:
Phase 1/Phase 2
Details
Lead Sponsor:
Sara Espinoza
Collaborators:
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston