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FrailtyPhase 2Mito-FrailNCT06027554

The Mito-Frail Trial: Effects of MitoQ on Vasodilation, Mobility and Cognitive Performance in Frail Older Adults

A Phase 2 study testing Mitoquinone Mesylate in people with Frailty and Mild Cognitive Impairment, run by UConn Health at 1 site in United States.

Recruiting

Looking for participants now. Contact the study team or a site below to ask about taking part.

Sites and contacts
Official record
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Trial summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to test the effects of MitoQ supplementation in older adults and frail older adults with physical dysfunction and/or cognitive dysfunction. The main question[s] it aims to answer are: To compare vascular function, oxidative stress levels, and physical and cognitive function among… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 65 to 80 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Frailty, Mild Cognitive Impairment, Aging
What is being tested?
Mitoquinone Mesylate
Type of treatment
Pill or oral medicine
Could I receive a placebo?
Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
How many people
60 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
7 Oct 2024to 1 Feb 2028
Phase
Phase 2
Are there results?
Not yet: the study is under way

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 65 to 80 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • men and women aged 65-80 with a slow gait speed (0.4m/s based on a 4m walk) and/or mild cognitive impairment.
  • good cardiovascular health (not taking any blood pressure/flow/metabolism altering medications)

Who cannot join

  • A vaccination in past two weeks
  • Recent acute infection three weeks prior to enrollment
  • Known immunodeficiency (including HIV infection, primary immunodeficiency, any history of chemotherapy or radiotherapy
  • Use of medicines during past 6 months known to alter immune response such as high- dose corticosteroids
  • Severe autoimmune disease requiring biological therapy
  • Major severe illness and/or Hospitalization in past 3 months
Show all 14Show fewer
  • On warfarin or other medications that are considered a blood thinner
  • Recent fall or other conditions that will impair ability to complete and/or interpret mobility performance test
  • Known bleeding disorder
  • Any conditions that would impair the function to perform grip strength test
  • include advanced neurological disease, severe co-morbid disease, terminal illness with reduced life expectancy, severe disability, unintentional weight loss in last 12 months and participation in another study.
  • Diabetes patients requiring insulin (For reducing the risk that participants will have hypoglycemic episodes when fasting for study visits)
  • Baseline ECG QTc >450 ms in men and QTc >460 ms in women
  • Prior diagnosis of ventricular arrhythmia (e.g., ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, torsades de pointes)

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.

Oh Sung Kwon, PhD contact

860-486-1120

ohsung.kwon@uconn.edu

United States1 site, 1 recruiting
  • UConn Health

    Farmington, Connecticut, 06030

    George Kuchel, MD, 860-679-6796, kuchel@uchc.edu

    Recruiting

Other trials in United States

About this study

The goal of this clinical trial is to test the effects of MitoQ supplementation in older adults and frail older adults with physical dysfunction and/or cognitive dysfunction. The main question[s] it aims to answer are:

  • To compare vascular function, oxidative stress levels, and physical and cognitive function among older adults and frail older adults with physical and cognitive dysfunction
  • To determine whether MitoQ supplementation has the potential to improve vascular function in central and cerebral vessels
  • To determine whether MitoQ supplementation can enhance physical and cognitive capabilities.
Read the detailed description

Chronic diseases and associated declines in physical and cognitive performance contribute greatly to lost independence with aging. In addition to a lack of effective interventions other than exercise to address either problem, few studies have examined strategies for targeting both conditions in frail individuals who may experience difficulties with both walking and memory. Use of geroscience-guided therapies permits us to target mechanisms shared by aging with chronic conditions for which aging represents a major risk factor. Thus, instead of focusing on one single disease at a time, it may be possible to delay the onset and progression of disability involving multiple functional domains.

Gait speed is predictive of mobility, morbidity, and mortality in older adults. Vasoreactivity is a critical cerebrovascular control mechanism used to maintain brain perfusion during metabolic demands such as walking. In contrast to healthy older adults, middle cerebral artery blood flow velocities fail to increase proportionally in response to walking speed in slow walkers. Thus, abnormalities in vasoreactivity and perfusion adaptation to metabolic demands may reflect and contribute to declines in gait speed.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), an intermediate condition between normal cognitive performance and dementia, significantly increases the risk of transitioning dementia caused by Alzheimer's disease (AD). Moreover, changes in physical and cognitive function frequently co-exist in the same individual and influence each other.

In the absence of other effective therapies, modifiable cardiovascular risk factors (e.g., hypertension, atherosclerosis, cerebral hypoperfusion) represent opportunities to prevent declines in physical and cognitive function by targeting the vascular endothelium and vasodilation.

Physiological reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels play critical roles in cerebral vasculature, which can contribute to the regulation of brain perfusion through their action in vascular tone control. Of the many potential cellular sources of ROS in the vasculature, mitochondria are the major source in endothelium regulation of vascular homeostasis and are associated with aging and cardiovascular disease. Specifically, mitochondrialtargeted antioxidant, MitoQ, improves vascular endothelial function by reducing mitochondrial ROS (mtROS) in older adults and animal models.

Investigators have recently shown that MitoQ, a mitochondria-targeted antioxidant known to improve endothelial function and Nitric Oxide (NO) bioavailability, also restore impaired flow-mediated vasodilation in frail older adults, enhancing gait speed. In the Mito-Frail study, investigators will explore the hypothesis that MitoQ attenuates aging-related declines in flow-mediated vasodilation involving both peripheral and cerebral blood vessels. At the same time, investigators will obtain feasibility and pilot data involving measures of physical mobility and cognitive performance that may help us design and power a future clinical trial. Thus, this study will seek to develop strategies for preventing or slowing the progression of Alzheimer's Disease and the vascular contribution to dementia.

Therefore, Aim 1 will assess peripheral and cerebral NO bioavailability and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS) levels in older adults who are healthy, others who are frail with slow walking speed and those who meet criteria for mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Aim 2 will determine whether MitoQ supplementation can enhance NO bioavailability and improve declines in flow-mediated vasodilation central and cerebral vessels.

Moreover, this study will also generate physical performance and cognitive data needed to design and power a future clinical trial focused on these functional outcomes.

Being tested
Mitoquinone Mesylate, Placebo capsule
Medical subject headings
Frailty, Cognitive Dysfunction

What participants receive

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

  • Mitoquinone MesylateDrug

    MitoQ given 20 mg per day for 12 weeks.

  • Placebo capsuleDietary supplement

    Placebo capsule taken every day for 12 weeks.

Study groups in NCT06027554
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Placebo capsulePlacebo comparatorGelatin capsules
Receives: Dietary Supplement: Placebo capsule
MitoQ capsuleExperimentalCapsules containing mitoquinone mesylate (MitoQ, 5 mg/capsule) totaling 20 mg taken every day for 12 weeks.
Receives: Drug: Mitoquinone Mesylate

What is being measured

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

  1. Change in Vascular Endothelial Function

    Assess Femoral artery through Passive Leg Movement and Brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (% [relative] and mm [absolute])

    Measured: 4 visits : Baseline, 12 weeks (MitoQ or Placebo), 8 weeks washout, 12 weeks (MitoQ or Placebo)

  2. Change in Cerebrovascular Function

    Utilize ultrasound to measure a change in blood flow velocity in response to a breathing test (cm/s)

    Measured: 4 visits : Baseline, 12 weeks (MitoQ or Placebo), 8 weeks washout, 12 weeks (MitoQ or Placebo)

  3. Change in NIH Tool Box Composite

    NIH Toolbox Cognitive Battery is a multidimensional set of brief measures assessing cognitive (as well as emotional, motor and sensory) function. There is no score range, but mean score is 100 with standard deviation 15. A score at or near 100 indicates average ability compared with others. Scores around 115 suggest above-average ability. Scores around 130 suggest superior ability (in the top 2 percent nationally). A score around 85 suggests below-average ability. A score in the range of 70 or below suggests significant impairment.

    Measured: 4 visits : Baseline, 12 weeks (MitoQ or Placebo), 8 weeks washout, 12 weeks (MitoQ or Placebo)

  4. Change in walking speed

    Gait speed calculated from 10 meter walk test. Only the 6 intermediate meters are recorded. Time is recorded by a manual chronometer. 3 records are done, mean time is calculated. Mean time is divided by 6 to obtain mean gait speed

    Measured: 4 visits : Baseline, 12 weeks (MitoQ or Placebo), 8 weeks washout, 12 weeks (MitoQ or Placebo)

  5. Sensitivity of a Montreal Cognitive Assessment score

    sensitivity of a Montreal Cognitive Assessment score < 26 to detect cognitive impairment defined as an abnormal result in at least one of the following tests : Test of Attentional Performance of Zimmermann and and Fimm (< 5th percentile in at least one of the subscales) ; Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale 4th version digit span (standard score ≤ 5) ; Wechsler memory scale III, spatial span (standard score ≤ 5) ; Wisconsin Card Scoring Test, GREFEX version (number of categories ≤ 5th percentile or if the number of perseverations is ≥ 95th percentile) Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale 4th version block design (standard score ≤ 5) ; Six elements test GREFEX version (rank score ≤ 5th percentile ); free and cued selective reminding test, 16 items, B version (Z-score ≤ -1,65 in at least one of the subscales)

    Measured: 4 visits : Baseline, 12 weeks (MitoQ or Placebo), 8 weeks washout, 12 weeks (MitoQ or Placebo)

Secondary outcomes (2)
  1. Change in Mitochondrial Function measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs)

    Measure mitochondrial respiratory function using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) using oroboros O2k system expressed by O2flux in pmol/second/cell numbers

    Measured: 4 visits : Baseline, 12 weeks (MitoQ or Placebo), 8 weeks washout, 12 weeks (MitoQ or Placebo)

  2. Change in Oxidative Stress measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) by O2flux in pmol/second/cell numbers

    Measure Mitochondrial-derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) using oroboros O2k system expressed by Amplex flux in pmol/second/cell numbers

    Measured: 4 visits : Baseline, 12 weeks (MitoQ or Placebo), 8 weeks washout, 12 weeks (MitoQ or Placebo)

Timeline

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

  1. First posted7 Sep 2023
  2. Study start7 Oct 2024
  3. Primary completion1 Mar 2027 (estimated)
  4. Study completion1 Feb 2028 (estimated)

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 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Crossover
Masking
Triple blind
Who is masked
Participant, Investigator, Outcomes assessor
Enrolment
60 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT06027554
Sponsor's protocol ID
23-132S-1
Other IDs
1K01AG080164-01, AG220138
Acronym
Mito-Frail
Status last verified
Aug 2026
First submitted
30 Aug 2023
Last updated
12 Aug 2026
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 2 study testing Mitoquinone Mesylate in people with Frailty and Mild Cognitive Impairment, run by UConn Health 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 2 inclusion and 14 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: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 12 Aug 2026. 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. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

What does this phase mean?

Phase 2 studies give the treatment to a larger group to see whether it has the intended effect and to keep checking safety.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.

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

Contact Oh Sung Kwon, PhD (860-486-1120, ohsung.kwon@uconn.edu), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Change in Vascular Endothelial Function (time frame: 4 visits : Baseline, 12 weeks (MitoQ or Placebo), 8 weeks washout, 12 weeks (MitoQ or Placebo)). The study lists 5 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
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 12 Aug 2026.

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