Treatment of Insulin Resistance in Hypertensive, Obese Adolescents

• Status: Terminated
• Trial end date: 2007-07-01
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

In this study, we propose using telmisartan, an angiotensin II receptor antagonist with PPAR-gamma modulating activity, for a 12-week period to decrease blood pressure and insulin levels in obese, hypertensive children. Telmisartan is currently approved for treatment of adult hypertension. Recent adult studies, however, have shown telmisartan as an effective medication for lowering insulin levels and improving insulin sensitivity. We will enroll 30 obese adolescents, ages 10 to 18 years, and randomly assign half of the group to receive telmisartan and the other half to receive placebo (sugar-pill). We will obtain fasting glucose and insulin levels, as well as other markers for insulin sensitivity and cholesterol panel, at the beginning of the study, at each clinic visit in 4-week intervals, and at the end of the study. We will obtain an imaging study (computed tomography, CT scan) on 10 randomly selected study patients (5 from each group) to examine the distribution of fat tissue before and after treatment. Studies suggest that fat tissue in the subcutaneous tissue is less harmful that fat tissues surrounding internal organs, such as the liver. We will also provide nutritional handouts and exercise recommendations to each participant as a life-style intervention. Each participant will be given a diary to record his or her diet and exercise activities throughout the study.

• Phase: N/A
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Details

• Lead Sponsor: Stanford University
• Treatments: Telmisartan

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

Ages between 10.00 and 17.99 years

Body mass index (BMI) ≥ 95th percentile for age and gender using the CDC data

SBP ≥ 95th percentile for age, gender, and height using the fourth report from the National High Blood Pressure Education Program (NHBPEP) guidelines.

Fasting plasma insulin concentration ≥ 20 U/mL will be required for study entry. This insulin concentration is commonly used for defining insulin resistance.

Exclusion Criteria:

Subjects will be excluded from the study if they have known diabetes as defined by the American Diabetes Association criteria, prior drug therapy to treat diabetes or insulin resistance, recent glucocorticoid therapy within 3 months of the screening visit, current drug therapy to treat hypertension, elevated creatinine (> 1.2mg/dL), elevated liver enzymes (ALT > 80), history or current alcohol ingestion, existing pregnancy or high-risk of becoming pregnant, other serious medical condition that the investigator determines may put the subject at undue risk if enrolled in the study, or taking medications with potential drug-drug interactions (anticoagulant, digoxin, diuretics).