Feasibility study:EULOv01
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Feasibility study: Endometabolic determinants of unintentional weight loss and frailty in old age (EULO)
IRAS ID
242426
Contact name
Earn Gan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 31 days
Research summary
People are living longer and while some people remain healthy, others can lose weight involuntarily and become frail. People who are frail often have weaker muscles, which increase the risk of falls and disabilities. Apart from frailty, unintentional weight loss also increases the risk of memory problem in later life. While the causes of unintentional weight loss are accountable in some people, we have yet to understand why this happens in 25% of older people. Ageing is related to changes in thyroid and appetite-regulating hormones, which could affect our weight, appetite and energy expenditure. We would like to find out if changes in body hormones could contribute to unintentional weight loss. We will first perform a small starter study, called feasibility study, to ensure a larger clinical study is feasible. The larger clinical study aims to understand the contribution of age-related hormonal changes to unintentional weight loss and frailty, by comparing the metabolic and hormonal profile between healthy volunteers and older people with unintentional weight loss. The feasibility study will involve 10 community-dwelling women aged 65 years or more, with half the group having unintentional weight loss (4.5kg or 5% weight loss). They will be screened at their GP surgeries and attend the Newcastle Clinical Research Facility (CRF) twice. Participants with active cancer or illnesses, depression, dementia or thyroid diseases will be excluded. The visits to the CRF involves blood tests, 6-meter timed walk, investigations of their muscle strength, energy expenditure and intake, metabolic rate and body composition. They will wear a portable activity monitor for 7 days. Their energy intake will be assessed on a separate day, with breakfast, lunch and dinner provided. This feasibility study will ensure we get all the important elements right before proceeding to a larger clinical study.
REC name
North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 2 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/NE/0076
Date of REC Opinion
3 Apr 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion