Effect of spironolactone on human brown fat in patients with primary aldosteronism

Status

Not yet recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ANZCTR

Registry ID

ACTRN12614001116617

Enrollment

Registered

2014-10-22

Start date

2015-01-15

Completion date

2017-06-30

Last updated

2020-01-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

Brown Fat, unlike ordinary 'white fat', functions like generators, burning fat to produce heat and dissipate energy. Brown fat protects animals against cold and from developing obesity. In humans, it was previously believed that brown fat disappears after infancy. However, research including our own has shown that brown fat is present in most if not all adult humans and is located mainly around the neck. Brown fat activity in humans is detected by a PET scan based on uptake of glucose that is tagged with a small amount of radioactivity. This is a widely used diagnostic method in medicine. Brown fat is more abundant in lean than in obese individuals. Stimulating its activity may be a simple way of controlling body weight in humans. Apart from the cold exposure, very little is known about what regulates brown fat in humans. Our research aims to identify factors that regulate brown fat in humans. Aldosterone is a mineralocorticoid hormone produced from the adrenal glands. In animals, it was found that aldosterone suppresses the activity of brown fat and blocking aldosterone action by a medication called spironolactone increases brown fat activity. In this study, we will study in humans whether spironolactone reactivates brown fat activity in subjects with primary aldosteronism and whether the changes in brown fat activity is associated with changes in energy expenditures.

Interventions

Primary aldosteronism who will be treated with at least 4 weeks of oral spironolactone. The dose, titration and total duration of treatment will be at the discretion of the treating physician (ie. no influence by the study). Brown fat activity (on PET-CT scan) and energy expenditures (using indirect calorimetry) will be assessed before and at least 4 weeks of treatment (but no more than 8 weeks)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Subjects with primary aldosteronism who will be treated with at least 4 weeks of spironolactone

Exclusion criteria

Pregnancy

Outcome results