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Completed Not applicable Interventional

Calorie Restriction and Brain Function in Mild Cognitive Impairment

ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03872375

Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT03872375. Field values are reproduced from the official study page; the official ClinicalTrials.gov record remains the source of truth for eligibility, enrollment, and contact information.

ClinicalTrials.gov public records Last synced Sep 6, 2026, 2:25 PM EDT

Data is sourced from official ClinicalTrials.gov public API records. Always review the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for the latest information.

Official title

Intermittent Calorie Restriction and Brain Function in MCI

Brief summary

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

Problems with blood sugar metabolism (i.e., metabolic dysfunction) progressively develop through old age, which is primarily due to obesity and lack of physical activity. Metabolic dysfunction increases the risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and negatively impacts memory and related brain function. There is intense interest in developing interventions, particularly non-drug therapies, to combat AD. Recent clinical trials have found that intranasal insulin, which facilitates glucose metabolism in the brain, is able to maintain memory in participants with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), the precursor to AD. While intranasal insulin is a useful, proof-of-concept intervention, it does not affect visceral fat mass and therefore metabolic dysfunction will persist in a given person. The investigators wish to engage participants with MCI in intermittent calorie restriction (CR), to reduce metabolic dysfunction and improve glucose metabolism. Intermittent calorie restriction in this case refers to eating whatever one wants for 5 days, followed by 2 consecutive days of consuming 530 calories via one protein shake with sufficient nutrients to sustain the person. This results in reliable weight loss, which itself improves glucose metabolism in the body and has a wealth of other benefits. (It should be mentioned here that weight maintenance has been shown in studies when participants restrict to 1 day/week).

Study identification

NCT ID
NCT03872375
Recruitment status
Completed
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Not applicable
Lead sponsor
Iowa State University
Other
Enrollment
96 participants

Conditions and interventions

Interventions

Dietary Supplement · Behavioral

Eligibility (public fields only)

Age range
70 Years to 85 Years
Sex
All
Healthy volunteers
Healthy volunteers not accepted

This page does not interpret eligibility. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are on the official ClinicalTrials.gov record.

Study timeline

Start date
May 7, 2019
Primary completion
Dec 30, 2021
Completion
Dec 30, 2021
Last update posted
Mar 30, 2022

2019 – 2021

United States locations

U.S. sites
2
U.S. states
1
U.S. cities
2
Facility City State ZIP Site status
Nutrition and Wellness Research Center Ames Iowa 50011
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Iowa City Iowa 52242

Site contact phone numbers, emails, and investigator names are intentionally not displayed here. Open the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for site contact information.

About this trial record page

What this page shows
Public field values for ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT03872375, including study identification, conditions, interventions, eligibility (age, sex, healthy volunteer), timeline, and U.S. site list.
What this page does not do
No medical advice, eligibility judgments, treatment recommendations, study quality scoring, or AI-generated medical summaries. No site contact phone numbers, emails, or investigator names.
Where the data comes from
Sourced from the official ClinicalTrials.gov public API. The official record is the source of truth.
Last refresh
Last update posted Mar 30, 2022 · Synced Sep 6, 2026

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