13 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
This randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled trial will evaluate the efficacy of Live Conscious's Beyond Hormone supplement in regulating hormone production in women. The study involves 50 generally healthy female participants aged 25-45 who are not menopausal. The trial spans three menstrual cycles and assesses both objective hormone levels and subjective well-being through blood tests and questionnaires, respectively.
This study will evaluate changes in blood vessels around the heart (e.g., aorta and carotid arteries) and in the brain with the loss of female sex hormones (e.g., estrogen) during the menopause transition. The menopause transition is associated with declines in blood vessel function and increased risk for cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer's disease. Increasing evidence supports an early role for declines in blood vessel function and future development of Alzheimer's disease in aging men and women. This study will learn about the effects of changes in female sex hormones, such as estrogen, during the menopause transition on blood vessel around the heart and in the brain in women.
Participants are being asked to take part in this research study to learn why growth hormone(GH) levels decline when estrogen production falls at the time of menopause. GH is a hormone released from the pituitary gland that affects bone, muscle, and fat. Estrogen is a female hormone. Doctors believe that lower estrogen is one of the reasons that GH diminishes in postmenopausal women. However, estrogen does not fall completely. This raises the question whether the little bit of estrogen that is left is doing anything. Lack of GH makes bones thinner, muscles weaker, and fat stores larger. To learn whether the low amount of the body's own estrogen maintains GH secretion after menopause, the investigators need to stop any estrogen you might be taking and then partially block the effect, if any, of your own estrogen. The investigators will use a new estrogen-blocking drug (fulvestrant). Fulvestrant(which also goes by the tradename, Faslodex) was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat breast cancer. Fulvestrant is being used in a non-FDA approved manner in this study (not to treat breast cancer, but to study the effect on Growth Hormone secretion). The drug interferes with how estrogen works in the body, except in the brain. The study that you are considering now tests whether your own estrogen works outside the brain to maintain GH secretion in postmenopausal women. This concept is important, because the brain controls how the pituitary gland secretes GH.
Studies investigating physiological processes involved in aging-related deficits in regulation of stress hormone systems.
The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that a low-carbohydrate diet will impact hormones and other factors that regulate appetite and energy balance, and result in lower energy intake and greater weight loss, than a high complex carbohydrate diet.
The purpose of the research study is to learn more about the regulation of reproductive hormones in adult men. We would like to understand what role testosterone and estradiol play in controlling the release of LH (lutenizing hormone) and FSH (follicle stimulating hormone). Testosterone and estradiol come from the testes, and LH and FSH are released from a gland in the head called the pituitary. Men involved in the study will have detailed evaluations that involve overnight stays in the hospital and frequent blood sampling. The men in the study will also be receiving medications that affect the levels of various hormones in the body. This will allow the researchers to learn how various hormones influence each other. Men that participate in the study will receive medical evaluations and monetary compensation. Information gathered from this study will help in the development of new treatments for infertility and potentially new hormonal forms of contraception.
Patients with end stage renal disease often have secondary hyperparathyroidism due to high phosphorus and low calcium levels in the blood. Preliminary animal studies and our initial human study indicate that the parathyroid hormone levels may change quickly based on the ingestion of phosphorus, prior to any change in the blood levels of calcium or phosphorus. This follow-up study will attempt to determine if the effect is independent of an increase in the blood glucose level. If so, this would suggest an as yet unidentified gastrointestinal receptor that mediates parathyroid hormone levels. This may affect the timing of administration and the type of phosphate binder used in treating patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism. The knowledge that parathyroid hormone levels can change acutely may also affect the recommended timing of blood samples
With the alarming increase in the prevalence of obesity, identifying factors that predispose individuals to weight-gain is of critical importance. Even when caloric intake and physical activity levels are well controlled, susceptibility for weight-gain is heterogeneous. Basal metabolic rate (BMR) represents the largest portion of daily energy expenditure in normal adults, and as such, variability in BMR among individuals can be a major factor in determining the susceptibility for gaining weight. However, factors responsible for this variability in BMR and resistance to weight-gain remain unclear. Our preliminary data indicate that high-normal growth hormone (GH) concentration is associated with resistance to weight-gain in rats when overfed and greater weight-loss in humans when underfed. In addition, the investigators have found that the pulsatility of GH secretion has profound effects on several metabolic processes. Therefore, together these findings suggest that endogenous GH secretion is associated with body weight regulation, and the pulsatility (peak amplitude) of GH secretion, rather than the absolute GH concentration, per se, may be responsible for this effect. Because GH influences many of the key metabolic processes that contribute to BMR (e.g.; protein synthesis, proteolysis, substrate cycling), the investigators anticipate that the resistance to weight-gain in persons with elevated GH concentrations will be associated with an increase in BMR due to acceleration of some or all of these processes. Our overall hypothesis is that increased GH secretion can protect against weight-gain due to an augmentation of major metabolic processes that contribute to BMR. Identifying factors responsible for predisposing individuals to weight-gain will lead to establishing improved methods for reducing the prevalence of obesity.
The overall purpose of this research is to understand the reasons why persons with spinal cord injuries eat more calories than they need to "burn", stay alive, and function. This research will investigate how quickly food moves through a participant's body, the hormones in the participant's body that control energy and digestion, and a participant's impressions of hunger after eating a meal. This will be compared in persons with and without a spinal cord injury.
The purpose of this study is to help us determine how hormones impact the production of cervical mucus which is a fluid secreted by the opening of the uterus, also called the cervix. During a normal menstrual cycle, cervical mucus changes in response to two hormones that the ovaries make: estrogen and progesterone. Many of the birth control methods women use thicken mucus and make it less likely for sperm to enter the uterus. The goal of this study is to better understand the effects estrogen and progesterone have on the cervical mucus in the body. To do this, the investigators will be using a drug that suppresses natural hormone production for 3 months. Estrogen and progesterone will be artificially replaced to better understand their effects. The investigators will also be studying the effect of a common birth control pill that may work by thickening cervical mucus. Last, the investigators will study some of the cells in the cervix that produce mucus.
The hyperghrelinemia of children with PWS provides a unique model by which to explore the hormonal and metabolic effects of orexigenic hormones in normal and pathologic conditions. An important question to be addressed by this proposed research includes the macro-nutrient regulation of ghrelin and PYY in obese children and children with PWS. As ghrelin antagonists are considered potential future anti-obesity agents, it is essential to gain understanding of the developmental, nutritional and hormonal regulation of this important orexigenic hormone in children.
RYGB (roux-en-y gastric bypass) has been reported to reverse type 2 diabetes (T2DM) immediately after surgery before any significant weight loss. In addition, a growing number of patients have been recognized with life-threatening hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia several years following their surgery. While the mechanisms by which RYGB improves glucose metabolism or alters islet cell function in patients after RYGB are not understood, recent studies suggest that increased secretion of GI hormones, primarily glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), as well as alteration in neural activity may contribute to enhanced insulin secretion in general, and to a greater extent in patients with hypoglycemia. The proposed research is designed to address the role of RYGB on insulin secretion by evaluating the contribution of stimulatory factors (neural and GI hormone) on islet cell function and the islet cell responsiveness to the physiologic stimulatory factors, in RYGB patients with and without hypoglycemia and non-operated controls.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate potential mechanisms by which estradiol deficiency accelerates fat gain and abdominal fat accumulation in women.