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Effects of Exogenous Ketones on Cognitive Function in Older Adults With Prediabetes?

University of Alabama at Birmingham · NCT07546409

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Key facts

Compensation
Not posted. Ask the study team before screening.
Who can join
Ages 60–75 · All sexes
Healthy volunteers
Accepted
Study type
Interventional · Not applicable
Target enrollment
20
US sites recruiting
2
Study start
May 20, 2025
Record last updated
July 2, 2026

Status re-checked against ClinicalTrials.gov within the last 12 hours.

What the study is about

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether older adults with prediabetes, but no diagnosed cognitive impairment, show early changes in brain energy use and thinking speed compared to older adults with normal blood sugar levels. The study will also test whether a single dose of an exogenous ketone supplement can improve brain energy use and cognitive processing speed.

The main questions it aims to answer are

Do older adults with prediabetes have lower brain glucose uptake and slower cognitive processing speed compared to those with normal glucose levels?

Does a single dose of an exogenous ketone monoester supplement improve cognitive processing speed and brain glucose uptake?

Researchers will compare older adults with prediabetes to older adults with normal glucose levels to determine whether differences exist in brain glucose metabolism and cognitive performance. In a subset of participants, researchers will also compare brain and cognitive outcomes before and after consuming a ketone monoester supplement (DeltaG, Oxford, England).

Participants will

Complete metabolic testing to determine glucose status

Undergo brain imaging using fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography combined with magnetic resonance imaging (18FDG-PET/MRI) while performing a cognitive processing speed task

Consume a single dose of a commercially available ketone monoester supplement during one study visit

Complete cognitive testing during imaging to measure processing speed and brain activity

The results of this study will help determine whether early metabolic dysfunction is linked to reduced brain energy use and whether ketones can temporarily support brain function in individuals at risk for dementia.

Being studied: Ketone Monoester (KE); Placebo

Conditions: Prediabetes; Healthy (Controls)

Eligibility criteria

Copied from the official record. The study team makes the final decision at screening.

Show full criteria

Inclusion Criteria

  • Age 60 to 75 years
  • Able to provide written informed consent
  • Fluent in English
  • No diagnosed cognitive impairment or dementia

Classified as either

  • Prediabetes (based on American Diabetes Association criteria), or Normal glucose regulation (control group)
  • Medically stable and cleared to undergo positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging
  • Willing to comply with study procedures, including metabolic testing, supplement ingestion, and neuroimaging

Exclusion Criteria

  • Diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment, dementia, or other neurodegenerative disorder
  • Diagnosis of type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes
  • Use of glucose-lowering medications (e.g., insulin, metformin, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists)
  • History of major neurological disorder (e.g., stroke, traumatic brain injury with loss of consciousness >30 minutes, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis)
  • Major psychiatric disorder not stable on treatment
  • Uncontrolled hypertension or significant cardiovascular disease
  • Severe renal, hepatic, or gastrointestinal disease that may affect supplement metabolism
  • Contraindications to magnetic resonance imaging (e.g., non-compatible implanted devices, severe claustrophobia)

Recruiting US locations

  • UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center

    Birmingham, AL 35205

    Site contact: Sarah K Sweatt, PhD · 205-975-5398 · sksweatt@uab.edu

  • Webb Nutrition Sciences Building

    Birmingham, AL 35205

    Site contact: Sarah K Sweatt, PhD · 205-975-5398 · sksweatt@uab.edu

Study contacts (from the official record)

  • Katherine Sweatt, PhD · 205-975-5398 · sksweatt@uab.edu
All diabetes studies in Alabama →
Effects of Exogenous Ketones on Cognitive Function in Older Adults… (NCT07546409) | Bored Studies