Can stress explain the link between obesity and high blood pressure?
NCT ID NCT04838678
First seen Sep 03, 2026 · Last updated Sep 04, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study asks how the nervous system tells blood vessels to narrow during stress, and whether obesity or high blood pressure changes that signal. Researchers will measure nerve activity and blood flow in about 100 adults, some with obesity, some with hypertension, and some with both. Participants will undergo lab stress tests like low oxygen and exercise, plus receive a drug called neuropeptide Y to see how blood vessels respond. The goal is to better understand the body's stress response, not to test a new treatment.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Neuropeptide Y (intra-arterial infusion)
- What this could lead to
- If this trial succeeds, it could reveal why obesity and hypertension make blood vessels overreact to stress, pointing toward new treatments that calm the nervous system's effect on blood pressure.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early, small study focused on understanding mechanisms, not on testing a treatment. Results may not lead directly to new therapies, and the lab stress tests may not fully reflect real-life stress.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Early phase 1
The earliest testing in people: a first look at safety, in a very small group.
- Participants
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About 100 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jul 2021
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 55 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Control - BMI\<30, age 18-55 * Hypertensive - BMI\<30, age 18-55, diagnosis of hypertension by 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring Obese- BMI\>30, age 18-55 Obese-hypertensive- BMI\>30, age 18-55, diagnosis of hypertension by 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring Exclusion Criteria: All groups - presence of other significant cardiovascular disease, renal disease, history of smoking, diabetes,
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
RECRUITINGDallas, Texas, 75231, United States
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