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Healthy AgingLEANNCT05207397

Lactate for Energy and Neurocognition

An observational study of Healthy Aging and Alzheimer Disease, run by University of Kansas Medical Center at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

Improved cardiorespiratory fitness following an aerobic exercise program elicits cognitive benefit in elderly subjects and memory improvement in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The physiological mechanism may be related to exercise-mediated change in circulating factors that permeate the brain. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 60 to 95 years
Conditions the study is for
Healthy Aging, Alzheimer Disease
What is being tested?
Lactate infusion
Type of treatment
Injection or infusion
How many people
24 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
12 Apr 2023to 29 Mar 2024
Phase
Observational
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 60 to 95 years
  • All sexes
  • Adult, Older adult

Study population: The investigator will leverage the KU ADC Outreach and Recruitment (OR) Core, which reaches more than 2000 individuals annually. The OR Core supports and maintains Eligibility Database, which contains demogrpahic and health information for all individuals who contact the ADC or are referred from clinic (n>7000, ~5000 without cognitive complaints). Recruitment will also leverage the ADC Clinical Cohort, which is comprised of 400 individuals who are characterized annually with clinical and cognitive testing.

Who may be able to join

  • Age 60 and older
  • Stable medication doses (>1month)
  • Post-menopausal
  • Diagnosis of either Nondemented (CDR 0) or Probable AD (CDR 0.5 or 1 only)

Who cannot join

  • Inability to provide consent
  • Diagnosis of insulin-dependent (Type 1) Diabetes Mellitus
  • Anti-platelet medication (Plavix), Warfarin, and other anticoagulants (Eliquis, Pradaxa, and Xarelto)
  • Recent ischemic heart disease (<2 years)
  • Diagnosis of a clinically significant chronic disease including CVD, other metabolic diseases (e.g., thyroid), cancer, HIV, or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
  • Any Neurological disorders that have the potential to impair cognition or brain metabolism (e.g., Parkinson's disease, stroke defined as a clinical episode with neuroimaging evidence in an appropriate area to explain the symptoms).
  • Clinically significant depressive symptoms that may impair cognition, abnormalities in B12, RPR, or thyroid function that may impair cognition, use of psychoactive and investigational medications, and significant visual or auditory impairment

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • Univeristy of Kansas Medical Center

    Kansas City, Kansas, 66160

Other trials in United States

About this study

Improved cardiorespiratory fitness following an aerobic exercise program elicits cognitive benefit in elderly subjects and memory improvement in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The physiological mechanism may be related to exercise-mediated change in circulating factors that permeate the brain. The response to each individual bout of exercise (i.e. the acute exercise response) may differ between subjects and be key to driving brain benefit. In young populations, the acute response to exercise can last hours and affect brain glucose metabolism. However, the field knows little about this acute exercise response in AD. Most exercise intervention trials designed to prevent and slow AD assess biomarkers at two fasting time points: pre- and post-intervention. The acute exercise response in the brain and periphery likely varies between subjects and diagnoses and provide key information regarding mechanisms of benefit. Our primary goals are to characterize the acute exercise response to exercise in the brain (glucose metabolism) and periphery (biomarker response) in aging and AD. We will identify relationships between exercise-related factors (i.e. heart rate, biomarkers) and change in brain metabolism and cognition. Understanding these mechanistic relationships will provide specific targets that can be used in future trials to develop individualized exercise prescriptions and maximize benefit.

Read the detailed description

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease, affecting over 5 million Americans, with this number expected to balloon to nearly 14 million by 2050. Annual health care costs associated with AD exceed 200 billion dollars which has led to the formation National Alzheimer's Project Act (NAPA). Goals of NAPA include the creation of a national plan to overcome AD, development of treatments to prevent, halt, or reverse AD, and improvements in early diagnosis and care of AD patients.

We have shown that an exercise program improves cognitive (primarily executive) function in cognitively healthy subjects in an exercise dose-dependent manner as well as a positive relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness change and memory change in individuals with AD who participate in 6 months of aerobic exercise. However, not all individuals benefit from exercise, and the precise mechanisms by which exercise elicits a beneficial effect are unclear. Most clinical trials, including our own, have been designed to assess metabolic outcomes at two fasting timepoints, before and after the intervention. However, the effects of each acute exercise bout on brain metabolism, and potential mechanisms by which cognition and memory may be affected, remain unclear. Longitudinal observational studies show a relationship between self-reported exercise and cognitive decline, and higher physical activity in midlife and late life is associated with a reduced risk of developing late-onset AD. Furthermore, intervention studies have shown cognitive improvement following exercise in ND and MCI subjects. Cardiorespiratory fitness decline tracks with brain atrophy and progression of dementia severity in AD and hippocampal volume has improved with a physical activity intervention in some studies of older adults. The fact that cardiorespiratory fitness change is important in achieving memory effects in AD is consistent with work that shows a positive relationship between exercise-related cardiorespiratory fitness change and markers of cortical thickness and brain volume in ND, MCI, and AD subjects. It is also consistent with work that shows physical activity and fitness levels are associated with larger brain volume. Cardiorespiratory fitness change is likely driven by the repeated, acute effects of each single, acute exercise bout that is additive over time. These acute effects include changes in peripheral biomarkers that readily cross the blood brain barrier but return to normal within a few hours. However, the effects of acute exercise on the brain are not well understood, especially in aged and AD populations, and at the intensities that are often used in exercise intervention programs. This presents a knowledge gap in the study of the beneficial effects of exercise in aging and dementia populations. One possible mediator of benefit with acute exercise is lactate. Production of lactate from pyruvate generates NAD+, a necessary intermediate for glycolysis. Peripheral lactate is transported to the liver for regeneration of pyruvate via the Cori cycle; however, lactate is transported throughout the entire body, and during physical exercise, lactate provides a key source of energy for muscle and brain. Lactate is used efficiently by the brain even at rest, the investigator hypothesize that lactate is a critical energy source for the brain, and that generation of lactate during acute exercise directly impacts glucose metabolism in the brain. This study will explore the effects of acute exercise on brain glucose metabolism as well as the dynamics of acute exercise biomarkers, including lactate and related substances that may affect brain metabolism.

Being tested
Lactate infusion
Medical subject headings
Alzheimer Disease

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Lactate infusionOther

    The unlabeled lactate infusion cocktail (30% L(+)-lactic acid solution (Sigma) with 2N NaOH, pH4.8) and stable isotope infusions were made by a pharmacy and tested to be sterile and pyrogen free. Upon arriving to the KU Clinical and Translational Science Unit, a catheter will be placed in the subject's hand, which will be placed into a heated hand box for collection of arterialized blood. A second catheter will be placed in the opposing forearm vein for the infusion of lactate isotope solution and unlabeled lactate infusion cocktail. After insertion of the catheters, and prior to isotope infusion, a background blood and breath sample (ParvoMedics TrueOne 2400) will be obtained. We will then administer priming doses of 57.5 mg [13C3]lactate, 250 mg D2-glucose and 136 mg H13CO3- followed by continuous infusions of [13C3]lactate at 10 mg/min and D2-glucose at 2 mg/min [53]. Along with the continuous isotope infusion we will begin infusion of the Na-lact

Study groups in NCT05207397
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Healthy ControlLactate clamp: After insertion of the catheters, and prior to isotope infusion, a background blood and breath sample (ParvoMedics TrueOne 2400) will be obtained. The investigator will then administer priming doses of 57.5 mg [13C3]lactate, 250 mg D2-glucose and 136 mg H13CO3- followed by continuous infusions of [13C3]lactate at 10 mg/min and D2-glucose at 2 mg/min. Along with the continuous isotope infusion the investigator will begin infusion of the Na-lactate at approximately 2.6mg/kg·min. Based upon readings from blood samples during the infusion, this rate will be adjusted as needed to maintain the target lactate concentration of approximately 4-5 mM. Blood samples will be drawn at 10, 20, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90 and 120 minutes, while breath samples will be collected at 60, 75, 90 and 120 minutes.
Receives: Other: Lactate infusion
Mild Cognitive ImpairmentLactate clamp: After insertion of the catheters, and prior to isotope infusion, a background blood and breath sample (ParvoMedics TrueOne 2400) will be obtained. The investigator will then administer priming doses of 57.5 mg [13C3] lactate, 250 mg D2-glucose and 136 mg H13CO3- followed by continuous infusions of [13C3] lactate at 10 mg/min and D2-glucose at 2 mg/min. Along with the continuous isotope infusion the investigator will begin infusion of the Na-lactate at approximately 2.6mg/kg·min. Based upon readings from blood samples during the infusion, this rate will be adjusted as needed to maintain the target lactate concentration of approximately 4-5 mM. Blood samples will be drawn at 10, 20, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90 and 120 minutes, while breath samples will be collected at 60, 75, 90 and 120 minutes.
Receives: Other: Lactate infusion

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Metabolic Clearance Rate (MCR)

    units of lactate cleared per minute (mg/kg×min)

    Measured: 2 hours

Secondary outcomes (1)
  1. Cognitive Performace

    Calculate change in global cognition composite score between fasting and lactate-infused states

    Measured: 2 hours

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted26 Jan 2022
  2. Study start12 Apr 2023
  3. Primary completion29 Mar 2024
  4. Study completion29 Mar 2024

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Observational
Observational model
Other
Time perspective
Cross-sectional
Enrolment
24 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT05207397
Sponsor's protocol ID
STUDY00144303
Other IDs
1R01AG062548
Acronym
LEAN
Status last verified
May 2025
First submitted
9 Aug 2021
Last updated
14 May 2025
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Publications

  • Kemna RE, Kueck PJ, Blankenship AE, John CS, Johnson CN, Green ZD, Chamberlain T, Thyfault JP, Mahnken JD, Miller BF, Morris JK. Methods to characterize lactate turnover in aging and Alzheimer's disease; The LEAN study. Contemp Clin Trials. 2024 Nov;146:107682. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2024.107682. Epub 2024 Sep 3.

    PubMed 39236780
  • Kemna RE, Kueck PJ, Blankenship A, John CS, Johnson CN, Green ZD, Mayfield H, Yoksh L, Johnson L, Thyfault JP, Mahnken JD, Miller BF, Morris JK. Acute effects of lactate infusion on metabolism, AD biomarkers, and cognition: The LEAN study. Alzheimers Dement. 2025 Dec;21(12):e70984. doi: 10.1002/alz.70984.

    PubMed 41376120

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

An observational study of Healthy Aging and Alzheimer Disease, run by University of Kansas Medical Center at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 7 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 14 May 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Metabolic Clearance Rate (MCR) (time frame: 2 hours). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT05207397, which also lists 2 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 14 May 2025.

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