High vs. moderate exercise: which is better for the brain in diabetes?
NCT ID NCT06734546
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study looks at how different exercise intensities affect the brain in people with type 2 diabetes. 75 inactive adults aged 30-75 will do supervised cycling at high or moderate intensity for 6 months, three times a week. Researchers will use brain scans, cognitive tests, and blood samples to compare changes in brain metabolism, blood flow, and thinking skills against a non-exercising control group.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- exercise (high or moderate intensity)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could show which exercise intensity best protects brain health in type 2 diabetes, potentially guiding future prevention strategies for cognitive decline.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage study (75 participants) focused on measuring brain changes, not treating disease. Results may not apply to all diabetes patients, and exercise adherence could vary.
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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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 75 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Nov 2024
- Expected to finish
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Aug 2027
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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30 to 75 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * type 2 diabetes * no insulin therapy * 30-75 years old * physically inactive Exclusion Criteria: * MRI contraindications * psychological disorders * exogenous insulin therapy * history of coma, transient ischemic attack, head trauma, brain tumor, stroke, epilepsy, and other central nervous system diseases that could cause dementia or presence of dementia before T2DM * suffering from any disease with significant impact on exercise intervention participation such as: chronic heart disease (e.g. valve insufficiency ≥ grade 2) or significant arrhythmias, cardiac events less than one year ago (myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass graft, percutaneous coronary intervention), clinical heart failure (oedema, shortness of breath), percutaneous coronary intervention less than one year ago, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cerebrovascular or peripheral vascular disease * severe hypertension (\>160/110 mmHg) * ongoing cancer, severe neuropathy (limiting exercise participation) * renal disease (GRF \<45 ml/min/1,73 m2) * inability to regularly participate in the exercise intervention * pregnancy * breastfeeding
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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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Hasselt University
RECRUITINGHasselt, Limburg, 3500, Belgium
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