Correlation Between COMT Val158Met Polymorphism and Dopaminergic Transporter Density (DAT) in Obese Women

March 23, 2021 updated by: Vivian Marques Miguel Suen, University of Sao Paulo

Correlation Between the Presence of COMT Val158Met Polymorphism and Dopaminergic Transporter Density (DAT) in Obese Young Women

The present study aims to evaluate the correlation between the presence of COMT Val158Met polymorphism and the density of dopaminergic transporters (DAT) in young obese women.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The prevalence of obesity remains increasingly alarming in Brazil and worldwide. The most widely recommended therapy for obesity is lifestyle modification, however, implementing these changes that can lead to weight loss is difficult and maintaining a long-term weight loss is even more challenging. Consequently, an academic effort is required to understand the pathophysiology and treat obesity for the establishment of new approaches to reducing food intake.

Recent evidence in the field of obesity and brain-based integration indicates a potential for designing new therapeutic interventions. Noninvasive neuromodulation of brain activity has been shown to be a technique that can help reduce food cravings and food intake and, more recently, body weight, offering a new way to treat obesity. However, recent studies have shown that this biomedical intervention could have a paradoxical effect related to COMT Val158Met polymorphism, which impacts dopamine levels in the prefrontal cortex. The potential mechanisms underlying this effect are unclear and future studies are needed to promote this clarification.

This study aims to verify the influence of the COMT Val158Met polymorphism on the density of dopaminergic transporters in the presynaptic membrane of dopaminergic neurons, exploring the 3 dopaminergic pathways: via nigroestrital, mesolimbic and mesocortical. This investigation will be carried out through the cerebral SPECT using the radiopharmaceutical 99mTecnécio-TRODAT-1 in young obese women with and without COMT Val158Met polymorphism. In baseline conditions, the investigators will compare the SPECT 99mTc-TRODAT-1 of obese women with and without the COMT Val158Met polymorphism with a database of non-obese volunteers.

Our hypothesis is that the study will facilitate understanding of the variability of the individual response of carriers and non-carriers of the Met allele of the COMT Val158Met polymorphism, affecting dopamine levels in the brain and to design, in the future, for the treatment of obesity based on the individuals' genotypic differences.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Anticipated)

38

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 Locations

  • Brazil
    • São Paulo
      • Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil, 14048-900
        • Recruiting
        • Clinical Hospital of Ribeirão Preto Medical School

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

Ages Eligible for Study

20 years to 40 years (ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Young women with obesity (BMI 30-35kg/m2), with and without COMT Val158Met polymorphism who participated in a previous study registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02953353).

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Women with obesity (BMI 30-35kg/m2), with and without COMT Val158Met polymorphism.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • pregnancy
  • any active psychiatric or neurological condition at the time of joining the study
  • any other significant medical condition

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
Intervention / Treatment
Carriers of the Met allele of the COMT Val158Met polymorphism
Women with obesity carriers of the Met allele of the COMT Val158Met polymorphism
Radiation: SPECT TRODAT-1
The Single-photon Emission Tomography (SPECT) TRODAT-1 will be performed after the voluntary rest in a dark and silent room for 30 minutes, to eliminate possible influences from external stimuli; the radiopharmaceutical [99mTC] -TRODAT-1 will be injected through the venous access previously established, 4 hours after the injection of the radiopharmaceutical, the acquisition of cerebral SPECT will be performed in the two groups of obese women, with and without COMT Val158Met polymorphism. The images will be acquired on Philips BrightView XCT equipment, equipped with a double detector.
Non-carriers of the Met allele of the COMT Val158Met polymorphism
Women with obesity non-carriers of the Met allele of the COMT Val158Met polymorphism
Radiation: SPECT TRODAT-1
The Single-photon Emission Tomography (SPECT) TRODAT-1 will be performed after the voluntary rest in a dark and silent room for 30 minutes, to eliminate possible influences from external stimuli; the radiopharmaceutical [99mTC] -TRODAT-1 will be injected through the venous access previously established, 4 hours after the injection of the radiopharmaceutical, the acquisition of cerebral SPECT will be performed in the two groups of obese women, with and without COMT Val158Met polymorphism. The images will be acquired on Philips BrightView XCT equipment, equipped with a double detector.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Density of Dopaminergic transporters (DAT)
Time Frame: During the procedure
The primary outcome is to compare the density of dopaminergic transporters (DAT) in the 3 dopaminergic pathways: via nigroestrital, mesolimbic and mesocortical in obese women with and without COMT Val158Met polymorphism.
During the procedure

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Sao Paulo

Collaborators

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Vivian MM Suen, MD, PhD, University of Sao Paulo
  • Principal Investigator: Lauro Winchert-Ana, MD, PhD, University of Sao Paulo

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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 (ANTICIPATED)

April 1, 2021

Primary Completion (ANTICIPATED)

November 1, 2021

Study Completion (ANTICIPATED)

November 1, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 5, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 23, 2021

First Posted (ACTUAL)

March 24, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ACTUAL)

March 24, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 23, 2021

Last Verified

March 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Process HCRP 3.844.428

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

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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