The Obese Taste Bud Study

Summary

The sense of taste is essential for priming food preferences and is therefore important for caloric uptake and body weight regulation. Recent studies show that obesity is linked to changes in taste sensation but also to a loss of taste buds on the tongue. This study aims to evaluate underlying mechanisms within the taste buds to potentially influence the sense of taste on the level of these sensory cells and in order to develop new treatment strategies to fight obesity.

Conditions

• Obesity

Interventions

PROCEDURE

taste bud biopsy

Taste buds will be surgically removed a) during a planned and medically induced elective surgery under full anesthesia; b) by local anesthesia in subjects without a medically induced surgery

DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

oral glucose tolerance test

75g glucose will be applied in drinking water following blood sample collection to evaluate glucose, insulin and C-peptide level.

DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Taste sensitivity

Subjects are given taste strips with 4 concentrations per each taste quality of sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami in a pseudo-randomized manner. Subjects are asked to identify the taste quality, state the intensity, preference and certainty.

DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

olfactory function

Subjects will be presented 16 different sniffing sticks in a randomized order, each for about 4seconds. People are then asked to identify the smell by choosing one out of 4 options (forced choice).

DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

taste bud density

The number of taste buds on the anterior tongue will be determined by colouring the tongue surface with food colour. Taste buds will apply more reddish as compared to non-taste tissue. Based on a digital photography the number of taste buds per subjects is counted manually.

DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

anthropometry

Anthropometric data collection will include measures of body height, body weight, arm-, upper- and lower leg circumferences, waist- and hip circumferences and a bioimpedance analysis to obtain data about body composition.

OTHER

biospecimen collection

Blood and saliva samples will be taken as well as a tongue swab.

OTHER

questionnaires

Through the use of several questionnaires, data about eating behavior, food preferences, life style factors and other will be obtained.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Helmholtz Institut für Metabolismus-, Adipositas- und Gefäßforschung

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Klinik und Poliklinik für Hals-, Nasen- und Ohrenheilkunde

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Klinik und Poliklinik für Mund-, Kiefer- und Plastische Gesichtschirurgie

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Poliklinik für Zahnärztliche Prothetik und Werkstoffkunde

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• University of Leipzig

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Michael Stumvoll, Prof. Dr. · Medical Faculty of the University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany

• Imke Schamarek, Dr. · Medical Faculty of the University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

69 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2020-11-09

Primary Completion

2022-07-15

Completion

2022-07-30

Countries

• Germany

Study Locations