Effects of Ketone Monoesters on Brain Function

February 19, 2025 updated by: Maastricht University Medical Center

Acute Effects of Ketone Monoester Supplementation on Brain Function in Older Men with Overweight

Disturbances in brain insulin-sensitivity are not only observed in obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D), but also during brain aging and in dementia. Ketone monoester supplements may improve brain insulin-sensitivity, which can be quantified by measuring the gray-matter cerebral blood flow (CBF) response to intranasally administered insulin. We hypothesize that acute ketone monoester supplementation increases (regional) brain vascular function and insulin-sensitivity thereby improving cognitive performance and appetite control. The primary objective is to evaluate in older men the acute effect of ketone monoester supplementation on (regional) brain vascular function and insulin-sensitivity, as quantified by the non-invasive gold standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-perfusion method Arterial Spin Labelling (ASL). The CBF response to intranasal insulin is a robust and sensitive physiological marker of brain insulin-sensitivity. Secondary objectives are to investigate effects on cognitive performance as assessed with a neuropsychological test battery, and appetite control as quantified by functional MRI (fMRI) with visual food cues.

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.
Interventional

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.
18

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Netherlands
    • Limburg
      • Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands
        • Maastricht University Medical Center

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Men, aged between 60-75 years
  • BMI between 25-30 kg/m2
  • Fasting plasma glucose < 7.0 mmol/L
  • Fasting serum TC < 8.0 mmol/L
  • Fasting serum TAG < 4.5 mmol/L
  • Systolic blood pressure < 160 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure < 100 mmHg
  • Stable body weight (weight gain or loss < 3 kg in the past three months)
  • Willingness to give up being a blood donor from 8 weeks before the start of the study, during the study and for 4 weeks after completion of the study
  • No difficult venipuncture as evidenced during the screening visit

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Women
  • Left-handedness
  • Following a low-carbohydrate diet or consuming nutritional ketone supplements
  • Current smoker, or smoking cessation < 12 months
  • Diabetic patients
  • Familial hypercholesterolemia
  • Abuse of drugs
  • More than 3 alcoholic consumptions per day
  • Use of products or dietary supplements known to interfere with the main outcomes as judged by the principal investigators
  • Use medication to treat blood pressure, lipid or glucose metabolism, or neurological or mental disorders.
  • Use of an investigational product within another biomedical intervention trial within the previous 1-month
  • Severe medical conditions that might interfere with the study, such as epilepsy, asthma, kidney failure or renal insufficiency, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, inflammatory bowel diseases, auto inflammatory diseases and rheumatoid arthritis
  • Active cardiovascular disease like congestive heart failure or cardiovascular event, such as an acute myocardial infarction or cerebrovascular accident
  • Contra-indications for MRI imaging (e.g. pacemaker, surgical clips/material in body, metal splinter in eye, claustrophobia).

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

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
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.
Experimental: Experimental
Ketone monoesters
Dietary supplement: Ketone Monoester
Ketone monoester supplement (395 mg/kg body mass)
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
Taste- and volume-matched placebo
Dietary supplement: Placebo
The placebo will be taste-matched to the active supplement for bitterness using denatonium benzoate and volume-matched with water

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
Brain Vascular Function
Time Frame: Change from placebo intervention at 30 minutes after supplement intake
Cerebral blood flow as quantified non-invasively by the MRI perfusion method Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL)
Change from placebo intervention at 30 minutes after supplement intake
Brain Insulin Sensitivity
Time Frame: Change from placebo intervention at 60 minutes after supplement intake
Cerebral blood flow measurements before and after a nasal insulin spray as quantified non-invasively by the MRI perfusion method Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL)
Change from placebo intervention at 60 minutes after supplement intake

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Appetite-related brain reward activity
Time Frame: Change from placebo intervention at 40 minutes after supplement intake
Blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD)-functional MRI (fMRI) response to food cues
Change from placebo intervention at 40 minutes after supplement intake
Cognitive Performance
Time Frame: Change from placebo intervention at 120 minutes after supplement intake
Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB)
Change from placebo intervention at 120 minutes after supplement intake
Brain Perfusion
Time Frame: Change from placebo intervention at 120 minutes after supplement intake
Transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound will be used to assess the velocity of blood flow through the middle cerebral artery (MCA)
Change from placebo intervention at 120 minutes after supplement intake
Blood pressure
Time Frame: Change from placebo intervention at 90 minutes after supplement intake
Office blood pressure and heart rate
Change from placebo intervention at 90 minutes after supplement intake
Ketone metabolism
Time Frame: During 120 minutes following supplement intake
Circulating beta-hydroxybutyrate concentrations
During 120 minutes following supplement intake
Glucose metabolism
Time Frame: During 120 minutes following supplement intake
Circulating glucose and insulin concentrations
During 120 minutes following supplement intake
Markers related to low-grade systemic inflammation
Time Frame: During 120 minutes following supplement intake
Circulating high-sensitive C-reactive protein concentrations
During 120 minutes following supplement intake
Appetite hormones
Time Frame: During 120 minutes following supplement intake
Circulating ghrelin concentrations
During 120 minutes following supplement intake
Perceived hunger and satiety
Time Frame: During 120 minutes following supplement intake
Visual analogue scale (VAS) questionnaires
During 120 minutes following supplement intake
Anthropometric measurements
Time Frame: Before supplement intake
Weight, length, waist and hip circumference
Before supplement intake
Food intake
Time Frame: Once 120 minutes following supplement intake
Food Frequency Questionnaire to assess food intake over the past month
Once 120 minutes following supplement intake

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.
Maastricht University Medical Center

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Peter J Joris, PhD, Maastricht University Medical Center

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 3, 2024

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.
November 15, 2024

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.
November 15, 2024

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).
April 29, 2024

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.
April 29, 2024

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.
May 1, 2024

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.
March 25, 2025

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.
February 19, 2025

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.
February 1, 2025

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.
  • METC24-008

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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