Treatment of Low Metabolic Rate Following Bariatric Surgery

Brief summary

Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.

Purpose is to determine the effect of ephedrine and caffeine, on metabolic rate and weight loss after bariatric surgery. Approximately 40% of patients struggle with their weight loss rate, or metabolic rate, after bariatric surgery, and at least 30% previously had or develop a low metabolic rate after surgery. Metabolic rate is the speed at which calories are burned. The fewer the calories eaten and the more calories burned, the more rapidly weight is lost. It is possible that despite a very low calorie intake following bariatric surgery metabolic rate will decrease so much so that weight does not decrease even if intake is reduced to 1000 calories per day. Ephedrine is a medicine used commonly to treat asthma, difficulty breathing, and wheezing. However, 40 years ago it was reported in scientific studies that ephedrine increases weight loss in patients on low calorie diets by increase the amount of calories that are burned. Combining caffeine with ephedrine makes ephedrine work more efficiently (more weight loss over time). Many studies show the effect of ephedrine on weight loss that began in 1974 with patients on food diets. Ephedrine used in various strengths and with a number of different combinations has shown to be effective and safe, especially when directed by a physician. There is only one study where ephedrine has been used in patients after bariatric surgery. In that study, both the patient and medical staff knew they were taking ephedrine (i.e., they were not "blinded"). The patients who were not losing weight or had measured low metabolic rates were treated with ephedrine. The patients taking ephedrine lost more weight after surgery than those not taking ephedrine. While this is a significant finding, the study was not designed to be the best test of the effects of ephedrine. The best test is where neither the patients nor the medical staff know if the patient is taking the active drug (double blind). All patients enrolled into the Research Study will receive capsules that contain either ephedrine and caffeine (the active drug) or identical capsules with no active ingredient (called a "placebo"). Neither group of patients will know which set of capsules they receive. The expected duration of treatment in the Study is 7 months from the day of surgery. This is a single site study. All patients will have their gastric bypass performed through Oregon Weight Loss Surgery at Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital. The investigators expect to study 200 patients with 100 receiving the study drugs (ephedrine and caffeine in a capsule) and 100 receiving placebo (inactive ingredients in an identical capsule) over approximately 6 months.

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Last update posted Sep 23, 2015 · Synced Sep 5, 2026

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