NCT06804187

Sweet Sensing in Type 2 Diabetes

Identifying the Mechanisms of Gut-brain Axis to Sweet Sensing in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Using Neuroimaging Techniques

• Status: Enrolling By Invitation
• Phase: —
• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 505 (estimated)
• Sponsor: University of Nottingham · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 60 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Diabetes is a global challenge and the number of people affected by diabetes is expected to rise to 5.5 million by 2030, of which 90% are type 2 diabetes (T2D). Habitual high consumption of sugars is an important risk factor in the development, and progression, of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Several studies have now shown that individuals with T2D have reduced lingual sweet taste sensation and this in turns increases their sugar intake to achieve the same hedonic reward values compared to the healthy population. This subsequently will lead to development of diabetes or worsening of the blood sugar control. Phase 1 of our study aims to identify the alterations in oral sweet taste sensitivity in individuals with type 2 diabetes and assess whether this is linked to sweet preference and habitual sugar consumption. In phase 2, we will use functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a powerful technique used widely for diagnosing disease and investigating physiological and pathological process, to investigate whether diabetes or prediabetes status modulates activation of taste and reward-related brain responses to lingual sweet taste stimulation. Phase 3 will be investigating the reward-related brain responses to gut taste stimulation using functional MRI. These new data will reveal the central mechanisms of sweet sensing in different status of diabetes and this will help develop novel treatment targets to improve metabolic and vascular outcomes in individuals with prediabetes or T2D.

Conditions

• Type 2 Diabetes
• Prediabetes

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-02-01
• Primary completion: 2026-05-01
• Completion: 2026-06-01
• First posted: 2025-02-03
• Last updated: 2025-07-08

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United Kingdom