Old drug, new hope: DCA may shield brain from low blood sugar in type 1 diabetes
NCT ID NCT05317455
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This early-phase study tests whether dichloroacetate (DCA), a drug used safely for decades in a rare metabolic disorder, can improve brain function during low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in people with type 1 diabetes. Sixteen participants with a history of severe hypoglycemia or hypoglycemia unawareness will receive DCA or a placebo in a crossover design. The goal is to see if DCA helps maintain cognitive function and brain glucose metabolism during controlled low blood sugar episodes.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Dichloroacetate (DCA)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a way to protect brain function during low blood sugar episodes in people with type 1 diabetes.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small, early-phase pilot study with only 16 participants, so results may not apply broadly. The drug's effect on brain function under hypoglycemia is still uncertain.
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
-
Early phase 1
The earliest testing in people: a first look at safety, in a very small group.
- Participants
-
About 16 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
-
May 2025
- Expected to finish
-
Jun 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
-
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
-
18 to 55 years
- Sex
-
Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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: T1DM subjects with: * a history of severe hypoglycemia and/or hypoglycemia unawareness or * a history of severe hypoglycemia with a blood glucose \<54 mg/dL, requiring the assistance of another person (with recovery after the administration of oral carbohydrate, intravenous glucose, or glucagon) or * at least 2 values \<54mg/dl during 2 weeks of CGMS testing during the week prior to study. Exclusion Criteria: * Age \< 18 years or \>55 years. * Body weight \>85 kg at screening visit * BMI \> 30 (female) and \>30 (male) kg/m2. * Untreated proliferative retinopathy * carriers of glutathione transferase Z1 (GSTZ-1) gene polymorphisms that predispose to DCA accumulation and toxicity
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Diabetes mellitus, type 1 are added.
Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
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.
-
The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
-
The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
-
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
-
Yale-New Haven Hospital
RECRUITINGNew Haven, Connecticut, 06510, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Tiny horses, big lessons: can ponies help kids tame diabetes?
- Can a math model tune insulin pumps better than standard care?
- Can a group program stop eating disorders in type 1 diabetes?
- Can a glucose app that predicts lows calm diabetes fears?
- Can a Two-Punch immune therapy save insulin cells in newly diagnosed diabetes?
- Could type 1 diabetes hide liver problems in children?