Metformin for Preventing Frailty in High-risk Older Adults

The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Know the risks and potential benefits of clinical studies and talk to your health care provider before participating. Read our disclaimer for details.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02570672

Recruitment Status : Recruiting

First Posted : October 7, 2015

Last Update Posted : December 27, 2017

See Contacts and Locations

Sponsor:

Collaborator:

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Information provided by (Responsible Party):

Sara Espinoza, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Study Description

Brief Summary:

Frailty is a geriatric syndrome which leads to poor health outcomes in older adults, such as falls, disability, hospitalization, institutionalization, and death. Due to the dramatic growth in the U.S. aging population and the health care costs associated with frailty (estimated at more than $18 billion per year), frailty is a major health care problem. There has been little research into potential pharmacologic interventions that would delay or reduce the incidence of frailty. Thus, the major goal of this study is to test metformin as a novel intervention for the prevention of frailty. The investigators propose that diabetes/insulin resistance and inflammation are major contributors to frailty, and that the use of metformin to modulate diabetes/insulin resistance and inflammation will prevent and/or ameliorate the progression of frailty.

Condition or disease	Intervention/treatment	Phase
Frailty	Drug: Metformin Drug: Placebo	Phase 2

Detailed Description:

Physical frailty is a geriatric syndrome that leads to poor health outcomes such as falls, disability, institutionalization, and death. The prevalence of frailty is estimated to be 7-15% among community-dwelling older U.S. adults. The associated costs of frailty were estimated to be more than $18 billion in 2000 and these will continue to increase over the next two decades. Thus, an increasingly frail older population will have major implications for the demand for health care services, including hospital usage, home care, and long-term care.

Data from several studies have suggested strong roles for diabetes and insulin resistance, which are associated with increased inflammation, in the physiological basis of frailty. The investigators' recent epidemiological research with a community-based population of older adults showed that diabetes was the most significant predictor of frailty onset and worsening over time. While the importance of frailty and its impact on an aging U.S. society have been widely recognized, to date there are no effective interventions to prevent or treat frailty. Therefore, the major goal of this study is to test a drug with insulin-sensitizing and anti-inflammatory properties, such as metformin, as a novel intervention for frailty prevention.

The investigators hypothesize that metformin will lead to reduced inflammation and insulin resistance present in older glucose-intolerant subjects and that these changes will consequently prevent the onset and/or progression of frailty in this sub-population of older adults. Subjects with impaired glucose intolerance will be enrolled in this study because this group encompasses approximately 1/3rd of the older population, this group is at increased risk for developing diabetes and frailty, and is the most likely to benefit from a potential anti-inflammatory and insulin-sensitizing intervention.

Study Design


Study Type :	Interventional (Clinical Trial)
Estimated Enrollment :	120 participants
Allocation:	Randomized
Intervention Model:	Parallel Assignment
Masking:	Quadruple (Participant, Care Provider, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Primary Purpose:	Prevention
Actual Study Start Date :	April 2016
Estimated Primary Completion Date :	October 2018
Estimated Study Completion Date :	October 2018

Resource links provided by the National Library of Medicine

Drug Information available for: Metformin Metformin hydrochloride

U.S. FDA Resources

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/treatment
Experimental: Metformin Subjects will be randomized to metformin (titrated up to 1000 mg twice daily, as tolerated)	Drug: Metformin Subjects will be randomized to metformin titrated to 1000mg twice daily as tolerated.
Placebo Comparator: Placebo Subjects will be randomized to metformin (titrated up to 1000 mg twice daily, as tolerated) vs. placebo.	Drug: Placebo Subjects will randomized to placebo will receive placebo

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures :

Frailty composite measure [ Time Frame: 2 years ]
Frailty will be defined using validated standardized criteria (Fried et al., J Geron. 2001 Mar;56(3):M146-56). The frailty score will be measured every 6 months as 0 through 5 of the following 5 frailty characteristics: 1) unintentional weight loss (>= 10 pounds) in last year; 2) self reported exhaustion based on the Geriatric Depression Scale item, "Do you feel full of energy?;" 3) muscle weakness based on hand grip strength measurement (standardized cut points are published); 4) slow gait speed based on 10-foot walk (standardized cut points are published); and 5) low physical activity measured in kilocalories/week based on the Minnesota Leisure Time Questionnaire (standardized cutpoints are published).

Eligibility Criteria

Information from the National Library of Medicine

Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.


Ages Eligible for Study:	65 Years to 90 Years (Older Adult)
Sexes Eligible for Study:	All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:	No

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

Men and women
All ethnic groups
Age 65 and older
Community-dwelling
Pre-diabetic based on oral glucose tolerance test with 2 hour values of 140 - 199 mg/dL after an oral glucose load, and no diagnosis of diabetes in the past 12 months
Subjects must have the following laboratory values: Hematocrit ≥ 33%, aspartate aminotransferase < 2 X upper limit of normal, alanine aminotransferase < 2 X upper limit of normal, alkaline phosphatase < 2 X upper limit of normal, normal urinalysis, normal electrolytes, normal platelets, prothrombin time and partial thromboplastin time, and normal renal function for the subject's age (defined by a serum creatinine <1.5 mg/dL in males or <1.4 mg/dL in females and creatinine clearance ≥ 60 mL/min).

Exclusion Criteria:

Characterized as frail, defined as the presence of 3 or more of: 1) weak hand grip strength, 2) slow walking speed, 3) low physical activity, 4) unintentional weight loss of ≥ 10 pounds over the past year, 5) self-reported exhaustion
Resident of nursing home or long-term care facility
Subjects with diabetes based on American Diabetes Association criteria or currently taking glucose lowering medications
Subjects taking drugs known to affect glucose homeostasis
Untreated depression or Geriatric Depression Scale score on 15-item scale >7
Diagnosis of any disabling neurologic disease Parkinson's Disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, cerebrovascular accident with residual deficits (muscle weakness or gait disorder), diagnosis of dementia or Mini-mental State Exam score <18
History of moderate-severe heart disease (New York Heart Classification greater than grade II) or pulmonary disease (dyspnea on exertion upon climbing one flight of stairs or less; abnormal breath sounds on auscultation)
Poorly controlled hypertension (systolic >170 mmHg, diastolic >105 mmHg)
Subjects who have taken systemic steroids, anabolic steroids, growth hormone or immunosuppressants within 6 months
Chronic inflammatory condition, autoimmune disease, or infectious processes (e.g., active tuberculosis, Human Immunodeficiency Virus, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, hepatitis B or C)
Active tobacco use (within 6 months)
Active malignancy, non-skin
Disease or condition likely to cause death within 5 years
Hypersensitivity to metformin or pioglitazone
Donated blood within the last 2 months

Contacts and Locations

Information from the National Library of Medicine

To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT02570672

Contacts


Contact: Alicia Conde, M.A.	210-617-5197

Locations


United States, Texas
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio	Recruiting
San Antonio, Texas, United States, 78229
Contact: Alicia Conde 210-617-5197

Sponsors and Collaborators

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Investigators


Principal Investigator:	Sara E Espinoza, M.D.	Associate Professor

More Information


Responsible Party:	Sara Espinoza, Associate Professor, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT02570672 History of Changes
Other Study ID Numbers:	2015-237H 1R01AG052697-01A1 ( U.S. NIH Grant/Contract )
First Posted:	October 7, 2015 Key Record Dates
Last Update Posted:	December 27, 2017
Last Verified:	December 2017

Additional relevant MeSH terms:


Metformin Hypoglycemic Agents Physiological Effects of Drugs

To Top