The present study is testing spermidine treatment in elderly patients with coronary artery disease. The study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, two-armed, parallel-group, single centre, clinical study.
Life expectancy has increased tremendously over the past century and as populations age, chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes have become more prevalent. Healthy aging is therefore of paramount importance to further promote longevity and quality of life. In humans, a high concentration of whole-blood spermidine is associated with longevity, and individuals with a high dietary spermidine intake have improved cardiovascular health and less obesity. Spermidine is essentially a polyamine found in all plant-derived foods, particularly in whole grains, soybeans, nuts, and fruit. Its favorable effects may act via several mechanisms. In an experimental model of hypertensive heart disease, spermidine reduced cardiac hypertrophy and improved diastolic and mitochondrial function. Spermidine also induces cytoprotective autophagy in skeletal muscle and alters body fat accumulation by metabolically modulating glucose and lipid metabolism. The clinical data on spermidine dietary supplementation are scarce. In elderly subjects with cognitive problems, spermidine supplement was well tolerated and had potential blood-pressure-lowering effects. The reported beneficial effects of spermidine raise the question whether elderly patients with cardiovascular disease can benefit from a dietary supplement of this polyamine. The central hypothesis of the current proposal is that a twelve-month spermidine treatment regimen in elderly patients with cardiovascular disease will yield positive effects on heart and skeletal muscle function, whole body composition and inflammation. The secondary hypotheses are that spermidine reduces blood pressure and has a beneficial impact on cognitive function, daily activity level, quality of life, biomarker risk profile, skeletal muscle cellular metabolism and lastly but not least gut microbiota. The study design is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to investigate the effects of a 24 mg daily oral spermidine dietary supplement vs. matching placebo in elderly patients with cardiovascular disease. A total of 200 patients will be included and randomized 1:1 to either spermidine 24 mg x 1 daily or matching placebo for one year. At baseline and after one year of intervention the patients will undergo study procedures. Changes from baseline to follow-up will be compared between the active and placebo treated patient groups.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Enrollment
180
Spermidine capsule of 8 mg x 3 capsules daily.
Placebo capsule. 3 capsules daily.
Aarhus University Hospital
Aarhus, Jutland, Denmark
Change in left ventricular mass
Measured with Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (CMR).
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Change in appendicular lean mass and ALM index
Appendicular lean mass and ALM index (Appendicular lean mass/height\^2). Measured by a whole-body dual-energy X ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Change in High-sensitivity C-reactive Protein (hs-CRP)
Measured from blood samples.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Change in Physical performance, peak oxygen consumption (VO2max)
Measured by cardiopulmonary exercise capacity (CPET) will be performed using a cycle ergometer test. Peak oxygen uptake measured in ml O2/kg/min.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Muscle strength, Handgrip strength
Hand-held dynamometer for measuring handgrip strength in kilograms.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Muscle strength, Knee-extension/flexion strength
Change in knee extension and flexion isokinetic strength (assessed by peak torque, Nm) and isometric strength (assessed by peak torque, Nm).
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Physical performance, 6 minute walk test (6MWT)
Change in walking distance in meters.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Physical performance, 30 seconds sit to stand test
Change in counts of sit to stand.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
The Short Physical Performance Battery
Changes in points.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Skeletal muscle mass
Thigh muscle mass by Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) using Dixon method.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Skeletal muscle cross sectional area (CSA) of fibers
CSA of fibers by cryosection of skeletal muscle biopsy obtained from vastus lateralis muscle.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Skeletal muscle tissue fiber composition
Change in ratio between muscle fiber types (type I, IIa and IIb) assessed by immunohistochemistry.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Skeletal muscle tissue cellular composition
Change in muscle tissue cellular composition assessed by cell sorting
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Skeletal muscle mitochondrial function
Change in muscle mitochondrial function assessed by high-resolution respirometry
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Total lean body mass
Change in lean body mass (in grams) and total lean mass/height\^2.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Total body fat percentage
Changes in body fat percentage.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Estimated visceral adipose tissue
Change in VAT index (kilogram-per-meters-squared index) and in mass (in grams).
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Intramuscular and intermuscular fat content
Calculating thigh adipose tissue mass located between and within muscle fibers by MRI Dixon method.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Free fatty acids
Measured from blood samples.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Insulin resistance
Changes in insulin resistance assessed by Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR).
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Markers of autophagy
Proteomics of skeletal muscle tissue and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs).
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Polyamine content in muscle biopsy
Measured with liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS).
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Polyamine content in blood
Plasma samples obtained from blood. Measured with liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS).
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Change in 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure measurements (24h ABPM)
Measured with the Spacelabs Healthcare 90217A device in an out-of-hospital setting.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Change in central blood pressure
Measured noninvasive with pulse wave analysis (PWA) using a SphygmoCor system.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Change in daily physical activity
Assessed by 14-day activity monitoring with an accelerometer (AX3, Axivity).
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Change in cardiac extracellular volume fraction
Assessed using Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (CMR) with intravenous gadolinium-based agent.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Change in myocardial strain
Assessed using Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (CMR) with intravenous gadolinium-based agent.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Change in Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity
Measured non-invasively through applanation tonometry using a SphygmoCor system. The unit of measure is m/s.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Change in Aortic pulse wave velocity
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessment. The unit of measure is m/s.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Change in general cognitive function and memory performance
Evaluated using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). It will be administered in a clinical setting using a tablet. MoCA score ranges from 0-30 and a score of 26 or higher is considered normal.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Change in specific domains of cognitive function
Evaluated using Cambridge Cognition (CANTAB) digital assessment software in a clinical setting using a tablet. The cognitive tests are MOT, RTI, SWM, DMS and PAL. These tests will objectively measure psychomotor speed, executive function and memory.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
HeartQol
HeartQol measures health-related quality of life (HRQL) and is a disease-specific health status instrument for ischemic heart disease. It consists of 14 items and provides two subscales; a 10-item physical subscale and a 4-item emotional subscale, which are scored on a four-point Likert scale (0 to 3). Higher scores indicate a better HRQL. Measured as global, physical and emotional score.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Cytokines
Changes in cytokines are evaluated through the utilization of multiplex cytokine assays. Measured from plasma blood samples.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
White blood cells
Changes in white blood cell differential count.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Immune cells
Changes in specific immune cell populations are measured using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from blood samples.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Vascular inflammatory markers
Measured from plasma blood samples with a multiplex assay.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Time to first occurrence of Composite cardiovascular endpoint: Cardiovascular death, heart failure hospitalizations, non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke, and coronary revascularization
Measured in months.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
Days alive and out of hospital
Measured in months.
Time frame: From randomization (month 0) to 12 months
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