Appetite Regulation by Human Chemosignals From Tears and Plasma

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01389869

Enrollment

Registered

2011-07-08

Start date

2011-06-30

Completion date

2012-01-31

Last updated

2013-12-09

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

Conditions

Obesity

Keywords

Emotional tears, Postprandial plasma, Chemosignal, Obesity, Appetite, Food intake

Brief summary

Obesity is closely related to metabolic diseases and its prevalence is sharply increasing. However, there is no safe and effective treatment for obesity so far, the investigators need a breakthrough idea to curtail the constant threat of obesity. It has been recently demonstrated that emotional tears of women can modify sexual responses, one of basic instincts, in men. As appetite and food intake is another basic instinct, chemosignals from tears and plasma may modify appetite and eating behavior in humans.

Interventions

BIOLOGICALSniffing emotional tears

A band-aid soaked 100μl of emotional tears will be applied just below nostrils.

BIOLOGICALSniffing trickled saline

A band-aid soaked 100μl of trickled saline will be applied just below nostrils.

BIOLOGICALSniffing fasting plasma

A band-aid soaked 100μl of own fasting plasma will be applied just below nostrils.

BIOLOGICALSniffing postprandial plasma

A band-aid soaked 100μl of own postprandial plasma will be applied just below nostrils.

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

CROSSOVER

Masking

DOUBLE (Subject, Investigator)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 35 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Woman: Negative for HIV, Syphilis (VDRL), and Hepatitis B and C * Man: Has a body mass index (BMI) of 18.5 kg/m2 to 27 kg/m2, inclusive.

Exclusion criteria

* Woman: Has eyelids inflammation, conjunctivitis, keratitis, lacrimal duct obstruction. Has skin diseases around eyes. * Man: Has diabetes mellitus or dyslipidemia on medication. Received gastrointestinal surgery except appendectomy and hemorrhoidectomy.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
The degree of appetite by visual analogue scale (VAS) and the amount of food intake by standard test meals in male volunteers while sniffing tears, trickled saline (control), and postprandial and fasting plasma in random order.	Visual analogue scale (VAS) will be rated 10 minutes after initial sniffing of tears/plasma just before eating standard test meals. The amount of food intake will be measured by weighing the meals before and after eating.

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Appetite regulating hormones(ghrelin, GLP-1, PYY), glucose, testosterone. Determination of tears, tickled saline, and plasma.	Blood samples for measuring appetite regulating hormones, glucose, testosterone will be collected at -10, 0, and 60 min.

Countries

South Korea

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026