The SAM Project: Science Against Malnutrition Project

August 31, 2026 updated by: Roberto Berni Canani, MD, PhD, Federico II University
The latest data from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that malnutrition in all its forms affects over 2.5 billion people globally. This condition is constantly increasing and affects the entire population, from childhood to the elderly. Malnutrition in all its forms negatively impacts the quality of life of patients affected and increases the risk of morbidity and mortality, as well as healthcare costs. Considering the complexity and multifactorial nature of malnutrition, the integration of multi-omics data obtained from analyzes with high-throughput technologies such as epigenomics, metagenomics, metabolomics, could benefit the prediction and evaluation of prognosis and/or response to specific treatments; this could pave the way for personalized precision medicine interventions for patients suffering from malnutrition. The SAM study aims to characterize malnutrition through the identification of specific biomarkers of the condition with the aim of developing innovative prevention and treatment programs.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
2000

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Italy
    • Naples
      • Naples, Naples, Italy, 80131
        • Department of Traslational Medical Science - University of Naples Federico II

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

1000 patients affected by malnutrition due to deficiency or excess, associated with at least one of the pathological conditions(small for gestational age; metabolic syndrome; type 1 diabetes mellitus; neurological diseases; psychiatric; chronic infectious diseases; oncological pathologies; gastrointestinal diseases; cardiovascular diseases; kidney disease; lung pathologies) aged 0-85 years (50% male) and 1000 sex- and age- matched healthy controls not affected by any pathology and/or malnutrition due to deficiency or excess.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Caucasian ethnicity;
  • both sexes;
  • age between 0 and 85 years;
  • affected by malnutrition due to deficiency or excess in association with other patology and sex- and age-matched healthy controls not affected by malnutrition due to deficiency or excess and any pathology
  • Written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Non-Caucasian ethnicity;
  • Age > 85 years.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Patients affected by malnutrition
Patients affected by malnutrition due to deficiency or excess
Other: Data and samples collection
Collection of clinical, anamnestic and lifestyle data; collection of faecal, blood and saliva samples
Sex- and age- matched healthy controls
Sex- and age- matched healthy controls not affected by any pathology and/or malnutrition due to deficiency or excess
Other: Data and samples collection
Collection of clinical, anamnestic and lifestyle data; collection of faecal, blood and saliva samples

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Characterization of malnutrition through the identification of specific biomarkers of the condition.
Time Frame: 36 months
Data and samples analyses
36 months
Untargeted microRNA expression profile in blood samples
Time Frame: 36 months
TruSeq Small RNA Sample Preparation Kit (Illumina)
36 months
Plasmatic extracellular vesicles
Time Frame: 36 months
A transmission electron microscope will be used to analyze the morphology of extracellular vesicles and the total protein concentration of the extracellular vesicles will be measured with a Bradford assay and the quantitation of specific membrane proteins and specific intracellular proteins (Heat-Shock Proteins/HSP) will be carried out by ELISA.
36 months
Metagenomic analysis of fecal samples
Time Frame: 36 months
Shotgun analysis
36 months
Metabolomicanalysis of fecal samples
Time Frame: 36 months
Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
36 months
Untargeted microRNA expression profile in saliva samples
Time Frame: 36 months
TruSeq Small RNA Sample Preparation Kit (Illumina)
36 months
Salivary extracellular vesicles
Time Frame: 36 months
A transmission electron microscope will be used to analyze the morphology of extracellular vesicles and the total protein concentration of the extracellular vesicles will be measured with a Bradford assay and the quantitation of specific membrane proteins and specific intracellular proteins (Heat-Shock Proteins/HSP) will be carried out by ELISA.
36 months
Metagenomic analysis of salivary samples
Time Frame: 36 months
Shotgun analysis
36 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Federico II University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
July 24, 2023

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
July 24, 2026

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
July 24, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
November 22, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 22, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
December 1, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 1, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 31, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 2/2023

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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