N/A N=44 Randomized Single-blind Health Services Research

The Effects of Added Sugar Intake on Brain Blood Flow and Hippocampal Function in Midlife Adults

Aging · Healthy Diet

Bottom Line

View on ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05211726 ↗

Enrolled (actual)

Serious AEs

0.0%

Results posted

Jun 2025

Primary outcome: Primary: Arterial Compliance (m^2 Kilopascal^-1) — 0.824; 0.772 m^2 kilopascal^-1

Study Design & Population

Study type: Interventional
Phase: N/A
Interventions: Low Added Sugar Diet (Other); High Added Sugar Diet (Other)
Age: Adult · 50+ yrs
Sex: All
Sponsor: University of Delaware
Primary completion: May 2024

Outcome Measures

Outcome	Result	p-value
PRIMARY Arterial Compliance (m^2 Kilopascal^-1)	0.824; 0.772	—
PRIMARY Cerebrovascular Reactivity (Percent Increase in Cerebral Perfusion Normalized to the Increase in PETCO2	4.035; 6.075	—
PRIMARY Hippocampal Stiffness (kPa)	3.09473; 3.04559	—
PRIMARY Hippocampal Damping Ratio (Unitless Ratio)	0.18186; 0.18794	—
PRIMARY Revised Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (HVLT-R) Total Recall Memory	7.6; 7.8; 9.7; 10.2; 10.9; 11.1	—
PRIMARY Revised Brief Visuospatial Memory Test (BVMT-R) Total Recall Score	5.6; 6.3; 8.0; 8.9; 9.3; 10.2	—
PRIMARY Seated Systolic Blood Pressure (mmHg)	115; 111	—
PRIMARY Seated Diastolic Blood Pressure (mmHg)	70; 67	—
SECONDARY Carotid-femoral Pulse Wave Velocity (CFPWV) (m/Seconds)	7.92; 7.71	—
SECONDARY Pattern Comparison Processing Speed Test (Raw/Computed Score)	45.50; 47.89	—
SECONDARY Flanker Test (Raw/Computed Score)	8.35; 8.52	—
SECONDARY Triglycerides (mg/dL)	102.9; 91.2	—

Summary

This study will focus on improving brain health through dietary modification of added sugars in middle aged adults (50- 64 years old). Participants will be fed two 10-day diets (one diet containing 5% of total energy from added sugars and one diet containing 25% of total energy from added sugars) and examine blood vessel function, hippocampus structure using a MRI, and memory performance.

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

ability to provide informed consent;
men and postmenopausal women aged 50-64 years;
habitual intake of added sugars ≤15% of total calories;
systolic BP 60 ml/min/1.73 m^2).

Exclusion Criteria

current use of medications or supplements known to lower blood triglycerides or cholesterol (e.g., fibrates, statins, high dose niacin, high dose omega-3 supplement);
chronic clinical diseases (e.g., coronary artery/peripheral artery/cerebrovascular diseases, heart failure, diabetes, chronic kidney disease requiring dialysis, neurological or autoimmune conditions affecting cognition (e.g. Alzheimer's disease or other form of dementia, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, large vessel infarct);
major psychiatric disorder (e.g. schizophrenia, bipolar disorder);
major depressive disorder (PHQ-9 ≥ 10);
current or past (i.e., last 3 months) use of anti-hypertensive or other cardiovascular-acting medications known to influence vascular function and/or arterial stiffness;
current medication use likely to affect central nervous system (CNS) functions (e.g. long active benzodiazepines);
concussion within last 2 years and ≥ 3 lifetime concussions;
heavy alcohol consumption (defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and United States Department of Agriculture as ≥8 drinks/week for women and ≥15 drinks/week for men).
claustrophobia, metal implants, pacemaker or other factors affecting feasibility and/or safety of MRI scanning;
recent major change in health status within previous 6 months (i.e., surgery, significant infection or illness);
current smoking within the past 3 months;
High degree of physical activity as defined by ≥ 25 leisure metabolic equivalent (MET)-hours/week, within the past 3 months.

View full record on ClinicalTrials.gov →

Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05211726). Outcome figures and adverse-event rates are extracted automatically from the registry's posted results and are provided for clinician reference, not as a substitute for the primary publication.