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Exogenous Ketone Supplementation in Females with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Exogenous Ketone Supplementation to Improve Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Females with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Status
Recruiting
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06155708
Enrollment
60
Registered
2023-12-04
Start date
2025-01-20
Completion date
2027-12-31
Last updated
2025-01-22

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

Conditions

PCOS

Keywords

Polycystic ovary syndrome, Ketone monoester ingestion, Insulin resistance, Endothelial function, Blood pressure, Oral glucose tolerance test, Flow mediated dilation, Handgrip exercise, Neurovascular transduction, Cold pressor test

Brief summary

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects 1 in 5 females of reproductive age. Commonly characterized as a disorder of infertility, PCOS is often accompanied by 3 potent cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors: insulin resistance, endothelial dysfunction, and elevated blood pressure. Accordingly, PCOS is associated with the development of CVD, the second leading cause of death in females in Canada. However, effective treatments to improve cardiovascular health in PCOS are lacking. Exogenous ketone monoester (KME) ingestion has been shown to improves outcomes associated with insulin resistance, endothelial function, and blood pressure regulation in healthy individuals and individuals predisposed to CVD. Therefore, oral ketone supplements offer a practical and effective strategy for improving cardiovascular health; however, this treatment has yet to be evaluated in PCOS. Therefore, the overall goal of this project is to employ KME ingestion to improve markers of cardiovascular health in females with PCOS. On two different days, participants will consume either a beverage containing a ketone supplement or a beverage containing a placebo supplement. The objectives are to compare responses between KME and placebo ingestion, and examine all outcomes related to cardiovascular health in females with PCOS in comparison with female controls of similar age and body mass index. The effects of KME ingestion will be quantified on: 1) glycemic control during an oral glucose tolerance test; 2) endothelial function using the flow-mediated dilation test; 3) blood pressure and acute blood pressure regulation; and 4) hemodynamic responses to acute exercise.

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTKetone

\- Ketone monoester supplement in the form of (R)-3-hydroxybutyl (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate based on participants' body weight (0.45ml/kg body weight) ingested with water and vanilla-flavored stevia in a total volume of 100 ml.

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTWater

100 ml water combined with 10ml bitter flavor and vanilla-flavored stevia

Sponsors

McGill University
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Investigator)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 40 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* All female participants will report female sex assigned at birth * All participants will be aged 18 to 40 * PCOS diagnosis

Exclusion criteria

* Current smokers or a prolonged history of smoking * Presence or history of overt cardiometabolic disease (e.g., stage 2 hypertension, diabetes, heart disease), neurologic disease, or endocrinopathy (with the exception of PCOS) * Current pregnancy or currently breastfeeding * Current use of medications which may affect our outcomes of interest (e.g., anti-hypertensives, anti-androgens, metformin)

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Glycemic responses to a 2-hr oral glucose tolerance test0-2.5 hours in the post-prandial period\- Glucose is calculated by the area under the curve using the trapezoid method.
Flow mediated dilation (FMD)30 minutes\- Endothelial function is assessed using the standard FMD; quantified as the percent increase in diameter from rest to peak diameter observed during reactive hyperemia (%FMD). The % change in diameter reflects the ability of the vessel to dilate in response to sheer stress induced by the flow following the release of occlusion. This reflects the function of the endothelium, or release of nitric oxide.
Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP)2 hours\- SBP, measured in mmHg
Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP)2 hours\- DBP, measured in mmHg

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Triglycerides0-2.5 hours in the post-prandial period\- Triglycerides area under the curve during oral glucose tolerance test
Insulinogenic index0-2.5 hours in the post-prandial period\- (Insulin at 30 min - fasting insulin)/ (plasma glucose at 30 min- fasting plasma glucose).
Arterial artery blood flow0-2.5 hours in the post-prandial period\- Calculated as the product of mean blood flow velocity (cm/sec) and cross-sectional area (2Πr2) x 60 sec/min.
Shear rate and low-flow mediated vasoconstriction to the FMD30 minutes\- Shear rate calculated as area under the curve from cuff deflation to the time of peak dilation using the trapezoidal rule, as well as low flow-mediated vasoconstriction during forearm occlusion, which provides an index of the endothelial contribution to resting vascular tone and which predicts cardiovascular disease risk.
Muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA)2 hours\- Measured using microneurography, and expressed in burst/min or bursts/100 heart beats
Neurovascular transduction2 hours\- Assessed by the MSNA signal (recorded in both raw and filtered/rectified/integrated formats for subsequent analyses) and arterial blood flow extracted on a beat-by-beat basis and processed using custom transduction software.
Insulin area under the curve0-2.5 hours in the post-prandial period\- Insulin area under the curve during oral glucose tolerance test
Capillary blood Beta-OHB concentrations0-2.5 hours in the post-prandial period\- Measures in mmol/L
Serum testosterone5 minutes\- Measured in pg/ml.
Serum sex hormone binding globulin5 minutes\- Measured in pg/ml.
Serum estradiol5 minutes\- Measured in pg/ml.
Serum Progesterone5 minutes\- Measured in pg/ml.
Vascular resistance2 hours\- Calculated as mean arterial pressure divided by Finometer-derived cardiac output
C-peptide0-2.5 hours in the post-prandial period\- C-peptide area under the curve during oral glucose tolerance test
Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)0-2.5 hours in the post-prandial period\- GLP-1 area under the curve during oral glucose tolerance test.
Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP)0-2.5 hours in the post-prandial period\- GIP area under the curve during oral glucose tolerance test.

Countries

Canada

Contacts

Primary ContactCharlotte Usselman, Ph.D
charlotte.usselman@mcgill.ca5143962140

Outcome results

None listed

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