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Hormonal Mechanisms of Sleep Restriction - Axis Study in Older Men and Postmenopausal Women

Hormonal Mechanisms of Sleep Restriction - Axis Study in Older Men and Postmenopausal Women

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
Early Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04037605
Enrollment
5
Registered
2019-07-30
Start date
2020-02-09
Completion date
2026-06-24
Last updated
2025-09-11

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

Conditions

Sleep Restriction

Keywords

Testosterone, Cortisol

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to 1) determine how hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis) activation occurs with sleep restriction and 2) evaluate how hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPG axis) deactivation occurs with sleep restriction. The investigator will also examine the cognitive function associated with sleep restriction, including food intake and food cravings.

Detailed description

Sleep restriction and its consequences are major public health problems, especially in older adults. Among the more severe physiological sequelae of sleep restriction is the development of insulin resistance. The mechanisms by which sleep restriction leads to increased insulin resistance are unknown, especially in vulnerable older adults; such research informs development of targeted interventions against the sleep loss/insulin resistance link. This study will administer drugs to clamp the function of each of these nodes to determine the regulatory changes that have occurred with sleep restriction. Even though the study is randomized order in design, the main comparison is before and after sleep restriction under each of these clamp conditions. Participants are admitted to the chronobiology laboratory where they are given 1 night of 10 hours sleep opportunity, followed by 4 nights of 4 hours sleep opportunity. Up to 40 participants can be enrolled. However, participants will be allowed an opportunity to be randomized to all 4 conditions so that as few as 10 participants may be required. We anticipate 5 men and 5 women will be enrolled assuming each undergoes all 4 clamp conditions.

Interventions

DRUGKetoconazole Pill (also known as nizoral)

Ketoconazole pill is taken 4 times per inpatient visit

DRUGGanirelix

Ganirelix subcutaneous injection is administered twice per inpatient visit

DRUGDexamethasone Pill

Dexamethasone pills is taken twice per inpatient visit

Dexamethasone IV injection is given twice per inpatient visit

Cosyntropin injection is given twice per inpatient visit

DRUGRecombinant Human Luteinizing Hormone (also known as luveris)

Recombinant Human Luteinizing Hormone is given as 6 IV infusion pulses per inpatient visit

DRUGHydrocortisone Injection (also known as solu-cortef)

Hydrocortisone IV push is given twice per inpatient visit

DRUGGonadorelin (also known as Lutrepulse)

Gonadorelin IV injection is given twice per inpatient visit

DRUGCorticorelin (also known as Acthrel)

Corticorelin IV injection is given twice per inpatient visit

DRUGPlacebo oral tablet

Placebo for Ketoconazole are given 4 times per inpatient visit

DRUGSaline Solution

Saline Solution (Placebo) for Dexamethasone IV injection or hydrocortisone IV injection given up to four times per inpatient visit

Saline Solution (placebo) for ganirelix subcutaneous injection

Sponsors

Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
TRIPLE (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Masking description

3 of the 4 conditions are masked by use of identical injections and pills. However one condition (adrenal testis) is not masked. Hence the study is partially masked.

Intervention model description

Blood is sampled every 10 minutes from 4 pm to 9 pm for future mathematical deconvolution in order to determine hormone pulse characteristics in response to the clamp conditions.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
60 Years to 80 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Men or postmenopausal women aged 60-80 years * Willingness to provide written informed consent * Stable weight over preceding 6 weeks * Body Mass index (BMI) 22-28 kg/m2 * Physically and psychologically healthy * Good habitual sleep with regular bedtimes * Neither extreme morning- nor extreme evening-type using Horne-Ostberg Morningness-Eveningness criteria

Exclusion criteria

* Medications that interfere with the adrenal or gonadal axis will be excluded * Unable or unwilling to provide IRB (Internal Review Board)-approved informed consent * Clinical disorders and/or illnesses * Current medical or drug treatment, as assessed by questionnaire * History of brain injury or of learning disability * Vision or hearing impairment unless corrected back to normal * Anemia (Hct \<38%) * History of psychiatric illness * Clinically significant abnormalities in blood and urine, and free of traces of drugs * Other endocrine abnormalities including hypothyroidism or adrenal failure; primary gonadal disease as indicated by serum LH (luteinizing hormone) or FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) concentration \>10 or \>15 IU/L, respectively, hyperprolactinemia indicated by prolactin \>25ug/L * Type 2 Diabetes (HgbA1C) * Current smoker * Recent or concurrent drug or alcohol abuse * Blood donation in previous eight weeks * Travel across time zones within one month of entering the study * Sleep or circadian disorder * Shift work within three months of entering the study * Irregular bedtimes (not between 6 and 10 hours in duration) * Unoperated obstructive uropathy, recurrent prostatitis, indeterminate prostatic nodularity, Hx or Suspicion of cancer of the prostate gland or PSA (prostate-specific antigen) \>4ng/ml * Previous adverse reaction to sleep deprivation or any of the drugs to be administered * Concurrent participation in another research study * Mini- mental state examination (MMSE) \< 27

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Average Blood Cortisol Concentration5 daysCortisol is measured in blood every 10 minutes for a 5 hour period, at the beginning and at the end of 4 nights of sleep restriction. The average cortisol is the parameter of interest.
Average Blood Testosterone Concentration5 daysTestosterone is measured in blood every 10 minutes for a 5 hour period, at the beginning and at the end of 4 nights of sleep restriction. The average cortisol is the parameter of interest.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Trough Blood Cortisol Concentration5 daysThis is the single minimal blood cortisol concentration that is measured during the entire 5 hour period, at the beginning and at the end of 4 nights of sleep restriction.
Trough Blood Testosterone Concentration5 daysThis is the single minimal blood testosterone concentration that is measured during the entire 5 hour period, at the beginning and at the end of 4 nights of sleep restriction.
Reaction time on Psychomotor Vigilance Task5 daysThis is measured by lapses in attention. As the person becomes more sleepy, there are more lapses (reaction time \>500 ms), at the beginning and at the end of 4 nights of sleep restriction.
Karolinska Sleepiness Scale5 daysMeasures how sleepy participants are using a scale of 1 (extremely alert) through 9. This scale will be used to assess changes in sleepiness throughout the day and through 4 nights of sleep restriction.
Peak Blood Cortisol Concentration5 daysThis is the single maximal blood cortisol concentration that is measured during the entire 5 hour period, at the beginning and at the end of 4 nights of sleep restriction.
Modified Sternberg working memory test5 daysComputerized neurobehavioral testing to determine how 4 nights of sleep restriction affects reaction time and accuracy.
Caloric Intake5 daysThe food given to participants is weighed. The amount that is not consumed is also weighed. The difference in weight is the amount of calories consumed.
Hunger5 daysHunger levels are assessed using the Flint visual analogue scale (VAS) to assess how 4 nights of sleep restriction affects participants' appetite.The Flint VAS asks the participant to rate 8 aspects of their hunger level on a scale from 1-5.
Food Cravings5 daysFood cravings are measured using the Food Cravings Index (FCI) scale to assess which food groups each participant has cravings for and how their cravings change during 4 nights of sleep restriction. The participant ranks their craving for 33 food items on a scale from 1-5.
Two card gambling task5 daysComputerized neurobehavioral testing to determine how 4 nights of sleep restriction affects participants' decision making. The end point is discriminability index, d'.
Peak Blood Testosterone Concentration5 daysThis is the single maximal blood testosterone concentration that is measured during the entire 5 hour period, at the beginning and at the end of 4 nights of sleep restriction.

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

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