BRown Fat Activity Measurement With Infrared imaginG tHermography andThermogenesis - the BRIGHT Study (BRIGHT)

BRown Fat Activity Measurement With Infrared imaginG tHermography and Thermogenesis - the BRIGHT Study

The whole body calorimeter is sensitive enough to reliably measure cold-induced thermogenesis as a surrogate marker of brown adipose tissue (BAT) activation.

The infrared (IR) energy flux from activated BAT can be accurately imaged and quantified using an IR imaging device, and that this IR energy output may be correlated to the increased energy expenditure quantified by the whole body calorimeter.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Obesity; Energy Expenditure; Adipose Tissue, Brown
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Cold air; Other: Cold water

Detailed Description

The recent rediscovery of functional brown adipose tissue (BAT) in healthy adults has opened up the exciting possibility of manipulating BAT for obesity management, and it is imperative to develop BAT imaging modalities that are non-invasive and safe for repeated use. Given that heat is a specific end-product of uncoupling protein-1 (UCP-1)-mediated BAT, this study examines whether surface body temperature assessed using infrared (IR) thermography can be a non-invasive measure to accurately and precisely predict brown adipose tissue (BAT) activation upon cold stimulation, which involves verifying an semi-automated method for characterizing thermal images. In addition, this study also aims to validate the use of a whole-body calorimeter to pick up changes in energy expenditure upon cold-induced thermogenesis. Lean, healthy male volunteers will be recruited. Thermal imaging of cervical-supraclavicular BAT will be done using an IR camera to assess changes in BAT activation. Blood samples will also be drawn at regular intervals to track changes in serum metabolites upon BAT activation. All in all, this study hopes to provide more supporting evidence that IR thermography is a viable imaging modality that is non-invasive, safe and reproducible of studying BAT activity.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 20
• Phase: Not Applicable

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 21 years to 35 years (ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: Male

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Male
• Ethnic Chinese
• Age between 21 to 35 years
• Body Mass Index 18.5 to 22.9
• Normal resting blood pressure ~120/80 mmHg
• Normal fasting blood glucose level <5.5 mmol/L

Exclusion Criteria:

• Do not train for or partake in competitive sports
• Do not have any major diseases
• Not on any prescribed medication

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: OTHER
• Allocation: NON_RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: CROSSOVER
• Masking: NONE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: Cold air; Subjects to be seated in an airtight chamber at an ambient temperature between 16 to 20 degrees Celsius for 1 hour.	Other: Cold air
EXPERIMENTAL: Cold water; Subjects to be seated in an airtight chamber at an ambient temperature of 24 degrees Celsius, with their hands and feet fully immersed in cold water for 5 minutes.	Other: Cold water

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Temperature at cervical-supraclavicular region	The temperature at the cervical-supraclavicular region following cold exposure will be determined using infrared thermal imaging.	45 minutes cold exposure

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Energy expenditure during cold exposure	Energy expenditure during cold exposure will be determined using the whole-body calorimeter.	45 minutes cold exposure

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Clinical Nutrition Research Centre, Singapore
• Collaborators: Institute for Infocomm Research

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: November 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): November 5, 2018
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): November 5, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 31, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 31, 2016
• First Posted (ESTIMATE): June 3, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): May 15, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 14, 2019
• Last Verified: May 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 2014/00721