MedTrace Logo

Inuit and Cold Exposure

NCT05884177 · Status: RECRUITING · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 25

Last updated 2023-08-22

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) produces heat through non-shivering thermogenesis. It is activated by cold exposure, and when activated it utilizes fatty acids and glucose in order to produce heat. The tissue is especially present in newborns, who not yet have gained a layer of insulating fat to protect from heat loss, and not yet have gained much muscle to produce heat through shivering thermogenesis.

It was long thought that BAT mass hereafter would retract. Modern imaging tools have proved that BAT is persistent and active in some adults. The presence and activity of BAT is negatively correlated with obesity and obesity-related metabolic disorders. The tissue retracts with advancing age and increasing BMI, and it is sensitive to environmental factors, such as diet, weather and climate. The key to activating BAT in subjects that have lost it remains elusive.

BAT is activated to produce heat when exposed to cold. Populations that are most cold exposed include people living in the Arctic. It is known that people of Arctic origin such as indigenous Inuit and indigenous Siberians have genetically adapted to and are acclimatized to the cold through several genetic changes, and possibly by upregulating BAT depots and activity. The investigators aim to dig deeper into the activation mechanisms in BAT, by investigating BAT mass and activity in Greenlanders and non-Greenlanders by use of stage-of-the-art modern techniques.

Conditions

  • Healthy

Interventions

OTHER

Short-term cold exposure

Short-term cold exposure

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of Copenhagen

    collaborator OTHER

  • Greenland University

    collaborator UNKNOWN

  • Stig Andersen

    lead OTHER

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
50 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2023-09-18
Primary Completion
2024-12-31
Completion
2025-12-31

Countries

  • Denmark

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT05884177 on ClinicalTrials.gov