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Naloxone, Hypoglycemia and Exercise

Hypoglycemia After Exercise in Type 1 Diabetes: Intranasal Naloxone as a Novel Therapy to Preserve Hypoglycemia Counterregulation

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03149770
Enrollment
30
Registered
2017-05-11
Start date
2017-09-18
Completion date
2023-04-01
Last updated
2024-04-16

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

Conditions

Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1

Brief summary

The overall objective of this project is to determine if the intranasal administration of naloxone during exercise will be a novel approach to preserve the counterregulatory response to hypoglycemia experienced the next day in patients with type 1 diabetes. Exercise induced autonomic failure contributes to the development of impaired awareness of hypoglycemia. Treatments that blunt the consequences of exercise induced autonomic failure, such as preserving the post-exercise counterregulatory response to hypoglycemia, may improve awareness of hypoglycemia. Naloxone, an opioid antagonist, is an extremely promising agent. In healthy volunteers, intravenous administration of naloxone during exercise preserved the counterregulatory response to hypoglycemia the following day (1). In this study, investigators will extend the clinical applicability by administering intranasal naloxone to individuals with type 1 diabetes. Specifically, the investigators will use a randomized, placebo controlled, crossover design to administer drug or placebo to patients with type 1 diabetes during acute exercise and assess the counterregulatory response to hypoglycemia the following day. The use of intranasal naloxone is a highly innovative aspect of this proposal. Intranasal naloxone translates readily to clinical use and, as demonstrated by the investigators preliminary data, achieves similar plasma drug concentrations as after IV administration.

Interventions

DRUGNaloxone then placebo

naloxone intranasal 4mg, then placebo

DRUGPlacebo then Naloxone

placebo then naloxone intranasal 4mg

Sponsors

University of Minnesota
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Type 1 diabetes diagnosed on clinical grounds (history of DKA, use of insulin within 6 months of diagnosis) * Diabetes duration \< 30 years (impaired awareness of hypoglycemia increases with duration so it will be more likely that shorter duration participants will have hypoglycemia awareness) but \> 2 years (to ensure that they have lost hypoglycemia induced glucagon secretion as is typical in patients who develop impaired awareness of hypoglycemia) * Age 18 - 65 years * Baseline hemoglobin A1C 6.8 - 9.0% (range selected to reduce the risk of hypoglycemia and uncontrolled diabetes in the weeks before the study, both of which may affect the responses to hypoglycemia) * Awareness of hypoglycemia as verified by Cox questionnaire

Exclusion criteria

* History of stroke, seizures (other than those related to hypoglycemia), arrhythmias, active cardiac disease * History of hypertension or blood pressure \> 140/95 mm Hg at screening visit * Pregnancy or plan to become pregnant during the study period * Health related limitations in exercise (including but not limited to: angina, uncontrolled asthma, peripheral arterial disease) * Unwillingness to avoid exercise during the 7 days before each part of the study * Concomitant medical problems that may prevent the participant from successfully completing the protocol * Smoking as defined by 2 or more tobacco cigarettes a week * Daily use of opioids or an opioid antagonist or use in the past two weeks * Unwillingness to wear a continuous glucose monitor for one week before and one week after each part of the study

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in Symptom ScoreDay 2The primary outcome variable for Aim 1 will be the difference, naloxone vs. saline, in symptom scores collected using a standard questionnaire during the hypoglycemic clamp on Day 2, after administration of intranasal treatment during exercise on Day 1. the scale for symptoms score is 0-72. A higher score represents a better outcome.
Change in Epinephrine LevelsDay 2The primary outcome variable for Aim 2 will be the difference, naloxone vs. saline, in peak epinephrine levels measured during the hypoglycemic clamp on Day 2, after administration of treatment during exercise on Day 1.

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Arm 1
Naloxone, then placebo Naloxone then placebo: naloxone intranasal 4mg, then placebo
16
Arm 2
Placebo, then Naloxone Placebo then Naloxone: placebo then naloxone intranasal 4mg
14
Total30

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicArm 1Arm 2Total
Age, Categorical
<=18 years
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Age, Categorical
>=65 years
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Age, Categorical
Between 18 and 65 years
16 Participants14 Participants30 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
American Indian or Alaska Native
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Asian
0 Participants1 Participants1 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Black or African American
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
More than one race
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
White
16 Participants13 Participants29 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
9 Participants4 Participants13 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
7 Participants10 Participants17 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
0 / 280 / 26
other
Total, other adverse events
4 / 282 / 26
serious
Total, serious adverse events
0 / 280 / 26

Outcome results

Primary

Change in Epinephrine Levels

The primary outcome variable for Aim 2 will be the difference, naloxone vs. saline, in peak epinephrine levels measured during the hypoglycemic clamp on Day 2, after administration of treatment during exercise on Day 1.

Time frame: Day 2

ArmMeasureValue (MEAN)Dispersion
NaloxoneChange in Epinephrine Levels425 pg/mlStandard Deviation 236
PlaceboChange in Epinephrine Levels367 pg/mlStandard Deviation 228
Primary

Change in Symptom Score

The primary outcome variable for Aim 1 will be the difference, naloxone vs. saline, in symptom scores collected using a standard questionnaire during the hypoglycemic clamp on Day 2, after administration of intranasal treatment during exercise on Day 1. the scale for symptoms score is 0-72. A higher score represents a better outcome.

Time frame: Day 2

ArmMeasureValue (MEAN)Dispersion
NaloxoneChange in Symptom Score25 score on a scaleStandard Deviation 12
PlaceboChange in Symptom Score21 score on a scaleStandard Deviation 13

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