Cardiovascular Risk Factor
Conditions
Keywords
Vascular Health, Melatonin, Dietary Sodium, Blood Pressure
Brief summary
Increased dietary sodium causes increases in oxidative stress and damages blood vessels. Americans eat more than the recommended amount of sodium. Melatonin is a powerful endogenous antioxidant that has reduced oxidative stress levels in clinical and healthy populations. This study will investigate whether melatonin can attenuate the negative effects of sodium on blood vessels.
Detailed description
Americans consume on average double the recommended amount of sodium established by organizations such as the American Heart Association and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Excess dietary sodium damages the inside of our blood vessels in a process known as endothelial dysfunction. This reduces the ability of blood vessels to dilate as much. This type of dysfunction can lead to the development of cardiovascular disease. Animal and human studies have identified one potential mechanism linking high sodium consumption and endothelial dysfunction; that is oxidative stress. Furthermore, high dietary sodium consumption has been shown to increase blood pressure reactivity in animal studies. Melatonin is a powerful endogenous antioxidant that has reduced oxidative stress levels in clinical and healthy populations. Melatonin has been shown to attenuate sympathetic responses, but research is limited. Whether supplementation of melatonin can offset the deleterious effects of a high sodium diet is unknown. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of melatonin supplementation compared to a placebo on markers of oxidative stress and blood vessel function in healthy young adults that consume a 10-day high sodium diet. Our hypotheses are that: 1) melatonin will reduce oxidative stress levels and restore blood vessel function and 2) melatonin will reduce the sympathetic nerve response to high sodium consumption.
Interventions
DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTMelatonin
Daily consumption of a high sodium diet and melatonin for 10 days
OTHERPlacebo
aily consumption of a high sodium diet and placebo for 10 days
Sponsors
University of Delaware
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)
Masking description
Participant will not know if they are receiving the melatonin or placebo pills.
Intervention model description
This is a randomized crossover design trial.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 45 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* healthy * normal blood pressure
Exclusion criteria
* hypertension * heart disease * diabetes * kidney disease * renal impairment * cancer * obese (BMI ≥30) * sleep disorder * use of tobacco products * pregnant or breastfeeding * take any medications for the above conditions * endurance trained athletes * night shift worker * melatonin or antioxidant consumption for the previous 3 months * use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Microvascular function | Day 10 | Assessed by Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) |
| Conduit artery endothelial-dependent function | Day 10 | Assessed by brachial artery flow mediated dilation (FMD) |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Blood pressure reactivity | Day 10 | Assessed by the change in blood pressure during Handgrip Exercise and Cold Pressor test from baseline |
Countries
United States
Contacts
Primary ContactMacarena Ramos Gonzalez, MS
Backup ContactShannon L Lennon, PhD
Outcome results
None listed