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Insulin SecretionNCT05238987

Effect of Taking a Single Tablet of Iron on Insulin Secretion

A study testing Ferrous sulphate in people with Insulin Secretion, run by Christian Medical College, Vellore, India at 1 site in India.

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

Oral supplementation with highly bioavailable forms of iron, such as ferrous sulphate, is the treatment of choice for iron-deficiency anemia. Iron from ferrous sulphate is efficiently absorbed in the duodenum, resulting in a rapid increase in transferrin saturation and appearance of "free iron" or non-transferrin… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 60 years, men onlyHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Insulin Secretion
What is being tested?
Ferrous sulphate
Type of treatment
Pill or oral medicine
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
15 participants
Where
1 siteIndia
Study dates
10 Oct 2020to 16 Sep 2021
Phase
Interventional
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 18 to 60 years
  • Men only
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult

Who may be able to join

  • BMI - 18 to 30 kg/m^2

Who cannot join

  • Known case of diabetes mellitus/pre-diabetes
  • History of chronic inflammatory disease
  • Anemia (detection of pallor on examination). Absence of anemia will be confirmed by hemoglobin estimation done at the time of baseline OGTT based on WHO criteria.
  • On iron supplementation
  • History of any gastrointestinal disorders that might affect absorption of iron/glucose

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

India1 site
  • Christian Medical College

    Vellore, Tamil Nadu, 632002

Other trials in India

About this study

Official title: Acute Effect of a Single Dose of Oral Iron on Pancreatic Beta Cell Function in Healthy Individuals: a Quasi-experimental Single Arm Before-and-after (Pre-post) Study

Oral supplementation with highly bioavailable forms of iron, such as ferrous sulphate, is the treatment of choice for iron-deficiency anemia. Iron from ferrous sulphate is efficiently absorbed in the duodenum, resulting in a rapid increase in transferrin saturation and appearance of "free iron" or non-transferrin bound iron (NTBI) in blood. NTBI is highly reactive and can catalyze the generation of reactive oxygen species and cause oxidative tissue damage.

Human pancreatic beta cells are known to express ZIP14, a transporter that has been implicated in uptake of NTBI from blood. In vitro and animal studies have shown that iron loading in beta cells can result in impaired insulin secretion. However, there are no human studies that have looked at the acute effects of oral iron intake on insulin secretion.

In this study, we plan to look at the effect of a single oral dose of ferrous sulphate on insulin secretion kinetics in healthy individuals. A single arm before-and-after (pre-post) study design will be used. Consenting individuals who meet the participation criteria will undergo a 75g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) to document baseline insulin secretion kinetics. One week later, OGTT will be repeated after administering a single dose of ferrous sulphate (120 mg of elemental iron) 2 hours prior to the test. Iron-induced change in insulin secretion kinetics will be documented. In addition, we will determine changes in glucose tolerance, insulin resistance and insulin clearance rates.

Read the detailed description

Oral iron supplementation is the treatment of choice in patients with iron deficiency anemia. In several developing countries, including India, iron is routinely supplemented to pregnant women, especially during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy owing to the increased iron requirement for the placenta and growing fetus.

Oral administration of iron is preferred to intravenous administration because it is effective, relatively cheap and safe. There are many different oral iron preparations and most of them contain iron in the ferrous form (ferrous sulphate, ferrous fumarate, ferrous gluconate, ferrous ascorbate etc.). Although it has been shown that all these preparations are equally effective in increasing hemoglobin levels, ferrous sulphate, being easily available and economical, is the most prescribed iron preparation.

Iron is absorbed in the duodenum. Dietary iron is usually in the ferric form and must be reduced to the ferrous form prior to absorption. This reduction reaction is catalyzed by duodenal ferrireductases (such as duodenal cytochrome b) and is aided by gastric HCl and other reducing substances in the diet, such as vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Administration of iron in the ferrous form (e.g., ferrous sulphate) circumvents this step, thus making it readily bioavailable. Ferrous iron is transported across the luminal membrane of the enterocytes via divalent metal transporter-1 (DMT-1). Iron is then transported across the basolateral membrane (into blood) by another transporter, ferroportin. Hepcidin, a peptide hormone synthesized and secreted by the liver, binds to and degrades ferroportin, thus reducing intestinal iron absorption.

In the blood, iron is transported bound to the plasma protein, transferrin, which binds iron with high affinity. Transferrin is normally saturated to about 30 to 35% of its total iron binding capacity, leaving a large reserve to bind additional iron. In conditions of iron overload, such as hemochromatosis or in patients with thalassemia, transferrin saturation can increase significantly. When transferrin saturation increases beyond 60% and especially as it approaches 80%, a small but significant amount of iron circulates in blood that is not bound to transferrin. This fraction, called "labile iron" or non-transferrin bound iron (NTBI), is highly reactive and can cause oxidative tissue damage.

NTBI is rapidly cleared from circulation, mainly by hepatocytes. It has been shown that ZIP14 is physiologically the most important transporter that transports NTBI into hepatocytes. Recently, it was shown that ZIP14 is also expressed on human pancreatic beta cells and that it may mediate NTBI uptake by these cells. Several in vitro and animal studies have shown that iron overload impairs pancreatic beta cell function. Patients with hemochromatosis are known to accumulate iron in the beta cells, resulting in diabetes due to decreased insulin secretory capacity. On the other hand, iron chelation or dietary iron restriction improves insulin secretion in mouse models of diabetes. Similarly, iron chelation in hemochromatosis and thalassemia also improved insulin secretion. These studies prove a strong link between increased iron and impaired beta cell function.

It has been shown that, following a single dose of ferrous sulphate (containing 60-100 mg of elemental iron), transferrin saturation increases rapidly and peaks (at ~ 80%) 2 hours after administration. This is associated with a significant increase in NTBI, which also peaks at 2 hours. Given that oral iron administration increases NTBI in blood and that pancreatic beta cells take up NTBI via ZIP14, we hypothesized that oral iron may lead to increased beta cell iron levels which may then cause impaired insulin secretion

In order to test this hypothesis, we plan to conduct a quasi-experimental single arm before-and-after study, where insulin secretion kinetics will be determined at baseline and after a single dose of iron (ferrous sulphate, 120 mg elemental iron) in healthy men.

Healthy male volunteers will be recruited from among the staff of Christian Medical College, Vellore after obtaining written informed consent.Participants will undergo a 75g oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) to document baseline insulin secretion kinetics. One week later, the OGTT will be repeated after a single dose of ferrous sulphate (120 mg of elemental iron) given 2 hours before the test. Serum levels of glucose, insulin, C-peptide, serum iron and transferrin saturation will be measured during both OGTT. The effects of iron on insulin secretion kinetics will be documented. In addition, we will determine if changes occur in glucose tolerance, insulin resistance and insulin clearance rates.

Being tested
Ferrous sulphate
Keywords
Oral iron, Insulin-Secreting Cells, Diabetes Mellitus
Medical subject headings
Diabetes Mellitus

What participants receive

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

  • Ferrous sulphateDietary supplement

    Single dose of ferrous sulphate (120 mg of elemental iron)

Study groups in NCT05238987
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Healthy men (before-and-after (pre-post) study)ExperimentalPartcipants will undergo a 75g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) to document baseline insulin secretion kinetics. One week later, OGTT will be repeated after administering a single dose of ferrous sulphate (120 mg of elemental iron) 2 hours prior to the test.
Receives: Dietary Supplement: Ferrous sulphate

What is being measured

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

  1. Change in insulin secretion kinetics

    Change in insulin secretion rate as determined by deconvolution of C-peptide levels in blood during an oral glucose tolerance test based on a previously published mathematical model (Van Cauter et al., 1992).

    Measured: 2 hours from intake of 120 mg of elemental iron

  2. Change in disposition index

    Disposition index is a measure of beta-cell function which is calculated as a product of insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion during an oral glucose tolerance test

    Measured: 2 hours from intake of 120 mg of elemental iron

  3. Change in insulinogenic index

    A measure of beta-cell function which calculates the increase in insulin secretion in response to increase in glucose concentration during an oral glucose tolerance test

    Measured: 2 hours from intake of 120 mg of elemental iron

Secondary outcomes (3)
  1. Change in glucose tolerance

    Glucose tolerance will be determined by calculating the area under the curve (AUC) of glucose levels during oral glucose tolerance test

    Measured: 2 hours from intake of 120 mg of elemental iron

  2. Change in insulin sensitivity

    Insulin sensitivity which is a measure of insulin action will be calculated using the Matsuda index (Matsuda and DeFronzo, 1999)

    Measured: 2 hours from intake of 120 mg of elemental iron

  3. Change in insulin clearance rate

    Insulin clearance rate which is a measure of rate of disappearance of insulin from the blood will be calculated as described previously (Castillo et al., 1994)

    Measured: 2 hours from intake of 120 mg of elemental iron

Timeline

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

  1. First posted14 Feb 2022
  2. Study start10 Oct 2020
  3. Primary completion16 Sep 2021
  4. Study completion16 Sep 2021

Resources

More details

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

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Basic science
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Model description
Quasi-experimental single arm before-and-after (pre-post) study.
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
15 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT05238987
Sponsor's protocol ID
IRB min.13294 Dt.26.08.2020
Status last verified
Feb 2022
First submitted
5 Feb 2022
Last updated
2 Mar 2022
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Publications

  • Abraham D, Rogers J, Gault P, Kushner JP, McClain DA. Increased insulin secretory capacity but decreased insulin sensitivity after correction of iron overload by phlebotomy in hereditary haemochromatosis. Diabetologia. 2006 Nov;49(11):2546-51. doi: 10.1007/s00125-006-0445-7. Epub 2006 Sep 22.

    PubMed 17019598
  • Auerbach M, Adamson JW. How we diagnose and treat iron deficiency anemia. Am J Hematol. 2016 Jan;91(1):31-8. doi: 10.1002/ajh.24201. Epub 2015 Nov 17.

    PubMed 26408108
  • Backe MB, Moen IW, Ellervik C, Hansen JB, Mandrup-Poulsen T. Iron Regulation of Pancreatic Beta-Cell Functions and Oxidative Stress. Annu Rev Nutr. 2016 Jul 17;36:241-73. doi: 10.1146/annurev-nutr-071715-050939. Epub 2016 May 4.

    PubMed 27146016
  • Brissot P, Ropert M, Le Lan C, Loreal O. Non-transferrin bound iron: a key role in iron overload and iron toxicity. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2012 Mar;1820(3):403-10. doi: 10.1016/j.bbagen.2011.07.014. Epub 2011 Aug 9.

    PubMed 21855608
  • Castillo MJ, Scheen AJ, Letiexhe MR, Lefebvre PJ. How to measure insulin clearance. Diabetes Metab Rev. 1994 Jul;10(2):119-50. doi: 10.1002/dmr.5610100205. No abstract available.

    PubMed 7956676
  • Coffey R, Knutson MD. The plasma membrane metal-ion transporter ZIP14 contributes to nontransferrin-bound iron uptake by human beta-cells. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 2017 Feb 1;312(2):C169-C175. doi: 10.1152/ajpcell.00116.2016. Epub 2016 Nov 30.

    PubMed 27903581
  • Cooksey RC, Jones D, Gabrielsen S, Huang J, Simcox JA, Luo B, Soesanto Y, Rienhoff H, Abel ED, McClain DA. Dietary iron restriction or iron chelation protects from diabetes and loss of beta-cell function in the obese (ob/ob lep-/-) mouse. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2010 Jun;298(6):E1236-43. doi: 10.1152/ajpendo.00022.2010. Epub 2010 Mar 30.

    PubMed 20354157
  • Dresow B, Petersen D, Fischer R, Nielsen P. Non-transferrin-bound iron in plasma following administration of oral iron drugs. Biometals. 2008 Jun;21(3):273-6. doi: 10.1007/s10534-007-9116-5. Epub 2007 Sep 13.

    PubMed 17851733
  • Farmaki K, Angelopoulos N, Anagnostopoulos G, Gotsis E, Rombopoulos G, Tolis G. Effect of enhanced iron chelation therapy on glucose metabolism in patients with beta-thalassaemia major. Br J Haematol. 2006 Aug;134(4):438-44. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2141.2006.06203.x. Epub 2006 Jul 4.

    PubMed 16822284
  • Fuqua BK, Vulpe CD, Anderson GJ. Intestinal iron absorption. J Trace Elem Med Biol. 2012 Jun;26(2-3):115-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jtemb.2012.03.015. Epub 2012 May 8.

    PubMed 22575541
  • Geisser P, Burckhardt S. The pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of iron preparations. Pharmaceutics. 2011 Jan 4;3(1):12-33. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics3010012.

    PubMed 24310424
  • Goddard AF, James MW, McIntyre AS, Scott BB; British Society of Gastroenterology. Guidelines for the management of iron deficiency anaemia. Gut. 2011 Oct;60(10):1309-16. doi: 10.1136/gut.2010.228874. Epub 2011 May 11.

    PubMed 21561874
  • Hansen JB, Tonnesen MF, Madsen AN, Hagedorn PH, Friberg J, Grunnet LG, Heller RS, Nielsen AO, Storling J, Baeyens L, Anker-Kitai L, Qvortrup K, Bouwens L, Efrat S, Aalund M, Andrews NC, Billestrup N, Karlsen AE, Holst B, Pociot F, Mandrup-Poulsen T. Divalent metal transporter 1 regulates iron-mediated ROS and pancreatic beta cell fate in response to cytokines. Cell Metab. 2012 Oct 3;16(4):449-61. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2012.09.001. Epub 2012 Sep 20.

    PubMed 23000401
  • Jenkitkasemwong S, Wang CY, Coffey R, Zhang W, Chan A, Biel T, Kim JS, Hojyo S, Fukada T, Knutson MD. SLC39A14 Is Required for the Development of Hepatocellular Iron Overload in Murine Models of Hereditary Hemochromatosis. Cell Metab. 2015 Jul 7;22(1):138-50. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2015.05.002. Epub 2015 May 28.

    PubMed 26028554
  • Kapil U, Kapil R, Gupta A. National Iron Plus Initiative: Current status & future strategy. Indian J Med Res. 2019 Sep;150(3):239-247. doi: 10.4103/ijmr.IJMR_1782_18.

    PubMed 31719294

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Ferrous sulphate in people with Insulin Secretion, run by Christian Medical College, Vellore, India at 1 site in India.

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 1 inclusion and 5 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 2 Mar 2022. 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 India. 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?

Change in insulin secretion kinetics (time frame: 2 hours from intake of 120 mg of elemental iron). The study lists 3 primary outcomes in all. 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 NCT05238987, which also lists 22 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 2 Mar 2022.

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