Exercise Dose and Metformin for Vascular Health in Adults With Metabolic Syndrome
Metabolic Syndrome, Insulin Sensitivity, Vascular Stiffness
About this trial
This is an interventional prevention trial for Metabolic Syndrome
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- Male or female ≥ 40 and ≤ 80 years old
- Has a body mass index ≥ 25 and ≤ 47 kg/m^2
- Not diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes
- Not currently engaged in > 150 min/wk of exercise
- At minimum, subjects will have abdominal obesity (increased waist circumference as defined below) and may have any additional National Cholesterol Education Adult Treatment Panel III Metabolic Syndrome criteria:
- Increased waist circumference (≥ 102 cm in men; ≥ 88 cm in women)
- Elevated triglycerides (≥ 150 mg/dl), or on medication for treating the condition
- Reduced HDL-cholesterol (< 40 mg/dl in men, < 50 mg/dl in women), or on medication for treating the condition
- High blood pressure (≥ 130 mmHg systolic or ≥ 85 mmHg diastolic), or on medication for treating the condition
- Elevated fasting glucose (≥ 100 mg/dl), or on medication for treating the condition
- Subjects currently taking medications that affect heart rate and rhythm (i.e. calcium-channel blockers, nitrates, alpha- or beta-blockers)
- Other major risk factors to be noted based on the Framingham Risk Score:
- HbA1c 5.7-6.4%
- LDL > 130 mg/dL
- Family history of type 2 diabetes (immediate family, i.e. parent/sibling)
- History of gestational diabetes
- History of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
- Family history of pre-mature cardiovascular disease (immediate family i.e. parent/sibling) before 55 for males or 65 for females that can include heart attack, peripheral arterial disease, abdominal aortic aneurysm, symptomatic carotid artery disease or clinical coronary heart disease)
- Age ( > 45 years old for men; > 55 years old for women)
- Black/African American, Mexican, Asian, and/or Hispanic
Exclusion Criteria:
- Morbidly obese patients (BMI > 47 kg/m^2) and overweight/lean patients (BMI < 27 kg/m^2)
- Evidence of type 1 diabetes and diabetics requiring insulin therapy
- Subjects who have not been weight stable (> 2 kg weight change in past 3 months)
- Subjects who have not been recently active (> 30 min of moderate/high intensity exercise, 2 times/week)
- Subjects who are smokers or who have quit smoking < 5 years ago
- Subjects prescribed metformin or have taken metformin within 1 year
- Subjects with abnormal estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)
- Hypertriglyceridemic (> 400 mg/dl) and hypercholesterolemic (> 260 mg/dl) subjects
- Hypertensive ( > 160/100 mmHg)
- Subjects with a history of significant metabolic, cardiac, congestive heart failure, cerebrovascular, hematological, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, liver, renal, or endocrine disease or cancer that in the investigator's opinion would interfere with or alter the outcome measures, or impact subject safety
- Pregnant (as evidenced by positive pregnancy test) or nursing women
- Subjects with contraindications to participation in an exercise training program
- Currently taking active weight suppression medication (e.g. phentermine, orlistat, lorcaserin, naltrexone-bupropion in combination, liraglutide, benzphetamine, diethylpropion, phendimetrazine)
- Known hypersensitivity to perflutren (contained in Definity microbubbles)
- Subjects who are considered non-English speaking individuals
Sites / Locations
- Loree GymnasiumRecruiting
- New Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition & HealthRecruiting
- Rutgers Clinical Research CenterRecruiting
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Arm 3
Arm 4
Placebo Comparator
Placebo Comparator
Active Comparator
Active Comparator
LoEx+Placebo
HiEx+Placebo
LoEx+Metformin
HiEx+Metformin
Subjects will participate in 3 supervised training sessions and 2 unsupervised training sessions while receiving placebo. Drug: Low Intensity Exercise + Placebo Low Intensity Exercise (LoEx) measured by a percentage of maximal heart rate in combination with placebo.
Subjects will participate in 3 supervised training sessions and 2 unsupervised training sessions while receiving placebo. Drug: High Intensity Exercise + Placebo High Intensity Exercise (HiEx) measured by a percentage of maximal heart rate in combination with placebo.
Subjects randomly assigned to this group will participate in the same 3 supervised training sessions and 2 unsupervised training sessions, but they will be provided Metformin. Metformin is a common medication routinely used to treat high blood sugar and has secondary effects on vascular health. Subjects will not find out whether or not they are on Metformin until after the study is complete. If their doctor needs to know, the people doing this study can find out. Drug: Low Intensity Exercise + Metformin Low Intensity Exercise (LoEx) measured by a percentage of maximal heart rate in combination with placebo.
Subjects randomly assigned to this group will participate in the same HiEx 3 supervised training sessions and 2 unsupervised training sessions, but they will be provided Metformin. Drug: High Intensity Exercise + Metformin High Intensity Exercise (HiEx) measured by a percentage of maximal heart rate in combination with placebo.