PROfiles of FGF-19 Post-prandial Secretion in Older Adults With Frailty and Without Frailty (PRO-FGF)

November 6, 2026 updated by: Hospices Civils de Lyon

Comparative Study of Postprandial Fibroblast Growth Factor-19 (FGF-19) Secretion Kinetics in Older Adults With or Without Frailty

Fibroblast Growth Factor 19 (FGF-19) is an intestinal hormone secreted in the post-prandial state, whose primary role is to inhibit bile acid synthesis in the liver. It is expressed by the FXR (Farnesoid X receptor) nuclear receptor in the enterocytes of the ileum, which is activated by specific bile acids metabolized in the gut microbiota. It was demonstrated that treatment with FGF-19 induces myofiber hypertrophy in vitro and increases muscle strength and mass in mice model of sarcopenia. Sarcopenia and the commonly associated physical frailty, are age-related syndromes associated with adverse events (such as falls and fractures, mobility disability) and increased mortality. Currently, there is no drug treatment that has been proven effective to counteract those syndromes and standard care consists in non-pharmacological interventions (exercise and nutrition) whose implementation remains complex due to several barriers. Moreover, the anabolic resistance underlying sarcopenia hampers the exercise-induced response on muscle mass and the level of evidence for this outcome remains poor-to-moderate. Thus, FGF-19 could be considered as a new regulator of skeletal muscle in elderly living with sarcopenia/frailty but there are, to date, only few data available in the literature. First and foremost, it is crucial to understand the relationship between postprandial FGF-19 and muscle which has not been characterized yet.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

30

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 Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

      • Pierre-Bénite, France, 69495
        • Aging Medicine Department / Hôpital Lyon Sud
        • 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

70 years and older (Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age ≥70 years
  • Give his/her informed consent
  • For the FRAIL group: SPPB ≤8, confirmed frailty (≥ 3 criteria in the Fried's appendix of frailty) and a at least a probable sarcopenia (regarding the revised European Working Group of Sarcopenia in Older People cut-offs ie. Low muscle strength either in the handgrip <27kg in men and <16kg in women or in the 5-repetitions chair stand test >15s)
  • For the ROBUST group: SPPB >8, no frailty (no criterion in the Fried's appendix of frailty) and no sarcopenia (normal muscle strength regarding the European Working Group of Sarcopenia in Older People cut-offs).

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals who have undergone cholecystectomy, colectomy, or small bowel resection
  • Individuals with diabetes undergoing oral treatment with metformin
  • Body mass index >35 kg/m2
  • Persons admitted to a health or social care facility for purposes other than research
  • Persons not affiliated with a social security system or beneficiaries of a similar system
  • Failure to comply with the exclusion period from another study specified in the national volunteer registry
  • Adults subject to legal protection measures (guardian, curator)
  • Persons deprived of their liberty by judicial or administrative decision
  • Persons who have exceeded the annual compensation amount for participation in research protocols
  • Persons with a chronic progressive or advanced disease detectable by clinical examination and laboratory tests that may interfere with the study's evaluation criteria, the judgment of which is left to the discretion of the research team
  • Persons with hemiplegia or another form of partial/total paralysis
  • Contraindications to metabolic testing: severe coagulation disorder, anemia, difficult and painful venous access in the investigator's judgment
  • Chronic constipation or diarrhea
  • Taking antibiotics within 15 days prior to the investigations and in the absence of induced digestive disorders (for so-called common antibiotics of the beta-lactam family) or within the month prior to the investigations, at the investigator's discretion (for Augmentin).
  • Polypharmacy, including drugs known to affect the microbiota and intestinal transit

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: Screening
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: FRAIL

Older adult (>70 years) with a Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) score ≤8, confirmed frailty (≥ 3 criteria in the Fried's appendix of frailty) and a sarcopenia at least probable (regarding the revised European Working Group of Sarcopenia in Older People cut-offs ie. Low muscle strength either in the handgrip <27kg in men and <16kg in women or in the 5-repetitions chair stand test >15s)

Following inclusion, participants will be summoned within 30 days maximum. They will be asked to fast from 8 pm the night before and will receive specific instructions for their last meal. Prior to blood sampling, they will be seen by a doctor who will rule-out any contraindications to the test. If conditions are met, a trained nurse will insert a venous catheter and the intravenous infusion required for blood sampling. An initial sample will be taken in the fasting state. Then, participants will have to eat a standardized meal consisting of a vegetable soup enriched with cream, palm and rapeseed oil, together with a vanilla cream enriched with glucose. The meal will provide a total of 921 kcal with 20.1g of protein, 59.6 of fat and 75g of carbohydrates in total. Following meal, blood will be collected each hour during 4 hours. Participant will remain under constant medical supervision. After sampling, doctor will ensure that participant does not show any negative clinical signs.

Other: ROBUST

Older adult (>70 years) with a SPPB score >8, no frailty (no criterion in the Fried's appendix of frailty) and no sarcopenia (normal muscle strength regarding the European Working Group of Sarcopenia in Older People cut-offs).

Following inclusion, participants will be summoned within 30 days maximum. They will be asked to fast from 8 pm the night before and will receive specific instructions for their last meal. Prior to blood sampling, they will be seen by a doctor who will rule-out any contraindications to the test. If conditions are met, a trained nurse will insert a venous catheter and the intravenous infusion required for blood sampling. An initial sample will be taken in the fasting state. Then, participants will have to eat a standardized meal consisting of a vegetable soup enriched with cream, palm and rapeseed oil, together with a vanilla cream enriched with glucose. The meal will provide a total of 921 kcal with 20.1g of protein, 59.6 of fat and 75g of carbohydrates in total. Following meal, blood will be collected each hour during 4 hours. Participant will remain under constant medical supervision. After sampling, doctor will ensure that participant does not show any negative clinical signs.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Area Under Curve (AUC) of plasmatic post-prandial FGF-19 level
Time Frame: 0 min, 60 min, 120min, 180min, 240min

Blood samples will be stocked at -80 degrees in the laboratory and will be analyzed by ELISA kits at the end of the inclusion period.

0 min, 60 min, 120min, 180min, 240min

Collaborators and Investigators

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

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 (Estimated)

November 19, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

March 19, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

March 19, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

October 19, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 19, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

October 26, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

November 10, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 6, 2026

Last Verified

November 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

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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