Participants sought for CSU study on weight-loss effects of diabetes drug

Note to Reporters: High-resolution photography is available at http://col.st/zvoIh.

Colorado State University researchers are looking for people to join a study on the positive side effects of a new diabetes medication, and participants will get three months of free meals provided by Housing and Dining Services.

Among the side effects associated with Farxiga, a new diabetes medication from AstraZeneca, are weight loss, lower blood pressure and healthier blood chemistry. These side effects have caught the attention of researchers in the university’s Departments of Health and Exercise Science and Food Science and Human Nutrition, who are asking the question: “Are all of these favorable side effects due directly to the medicine, or are they simply side effects associated with weight loss?”

In a study sponsored by AstraZeneca, Health and Exercise Science Ph.D. student Jessie Wilburn is studying people without diabetes who lose weight while using the medication, and comparing them to others without diabetes who lose weight through eating healthy. Wilburn is also trying to isolate the effects of the medicine by having people eat more than usual to prevent the weight loss usually associated with taking the medication.

“In addition to providing useful information about the medication,” Wilburn says, “it’s a great opportunity for people in and around the Fort Collins area to learn a little about their bodies and their risk for diabetes.”

Participants will receive financial compensation as well as 12 weeks’ worth of meals (breakfasts, lunches and dinners) provided by Housing and Dining Services.

Chris Melby, a professor in Food Science and Human Nutrition, and Christopher Bell, an associate professor in Health and Exercise Science, are co-principal investigators of the two-year, $750,000 study. During the study, neither the researchers nor the participants will know which subjects are taking Farxiga and which are taking a placebo.

Those who weigh more than they prefer, are aged between 18 and 65 years, and don’t exercise regularly can contact Wilburn via email at physiology@cahs.colostate.edu to request more study information.

The Departments of Health and Exercise Science and Food Science and Human Nutrition are based in CSU’s College of Health and Human Sciences.

CSU IRB Protocol # 14-5531H

-30-