Microbiome Sampling During Endurance Exercise

March 25, 2025 updated by: Sean Spencer, Stanford University

Determination of Microbiome Diversity and Inflammation Throughout the GI Tract During Endurance Exercise

The small intestine and feces of subjects undergoing endurance exercise will be sampled to examine their microbiome composition

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The close relationship between humans and the commensal microbes of their gut microbiota represents vast potential for health maintenance, but most efforts have been focused on disease. Gastrointestinal (GI) problems are very common especially in endurance athletes, and are known to impair performance or subsequent recovery. Moreover, GI symptoms among athletes vary enormously, and some athletes are more prone than others; the links between this variation and the differences in microbiome composition across individuals have not been elucidated. The investigators propose to use a novel, non-invasive sampling technology to quantify the effects of exercise on the GI environment including the small intestines, and aim to establish the potential for dietary interventions to improve recovery from exercise.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

20

Phase

  • 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 Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Stanford, California, United States, 94305
        • Recruiting
        • Stanford University
        • Contact:

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Subjects must meet all of the following criteria to be included in the study:

  • Males or females 18 years of age or older and 70 years of age or younger at the time of the first Screening Visit.
  • ASA Classifications 1 and 2.
  • For women of childbearing potential, negative urine pregnancy test within 7 days of Screening Visit. Willingness to use highly effective contraception during the entire study period (e.g.: implants, injectables, oral contraceptives, intra-uterine device or declared abstinence).
  • Subject is fluent in English and understands the study protocol and informed consent and is willing and able to comply with study requirements and sign the informed consent form. Non-English speakers will not be included in the study because consent forms are in English, and any instructions during exercise will need to be provided in English.

Exclusion Criteria:

Subjects with any of the following conditions or characteristics must be excluded from the study:

  • History of any of the following:
  • Prior gastric or esophageal surgery, including lap banding or bariatric surgery
  • Bowel obstruction
  • Gastric outlet obstruction
  • Diverticulitis
  • Inflammatory bowel disease
  • Ileostomy or colostomy
  • Gastric or esophageal cancer
  • Achalasia
  • Esophageal diverticulum
  • Active Dysphagia or Odynophagia
  • Active medication use for any gastrointestinal conditions
  • Pregnancy or planned pregnancy within 30 days from Screening Visit, or breast-feeding
  • Any form of active substance abuse or dependence (including drug or alcohol abuse), unstable medical or psychiatric disorder, or any chronic condition susceptible, in the opinion of the investigator, to interfere with the conduct of the study
  • A clinical condition that, in the judgment of the investigator, could potentially pose a health risk to the subject while involved in the study

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: Basic Science
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Exercise with microbiome sampling
Participants exercise on a treadmill after swallowing a microbiome sampling capsule. They will then repeat this procedure during controlled cooling of body temperature to prevent increased body temperature during exercise.
Other: Treadmill Exercise
Participants perform moderate to strenuous exercise for up to 20 minutes on a treadmill after swallowing a microbiome sampling capsule.
Device: Cooling Gloves
Cooling gloves to prevent rise in core body temperature during exercise
Device: Microbiome Capsule
Capsule used for collecting intestinal tract contents

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of participants completing exercise
Time Frame: 1 day
Target goal is 80% of subjects will complete their exercise testing
1 day

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Volume of intestinal fluid from subjects for analysis
Time Frame: 2 weeks
Target goal is 80% of subjects to have at least 100ul of intestinal fluid collected from microbiome-sampling capsule
2 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Stanford University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Sean P Spencer, MD, PhD, Stanford University

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 (Actual)

August 4, 2024

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 25, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 25, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

April 1, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 1, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 25, 2025

Last Verified

March 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • IRB-67010

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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