Weight loss drug's hidden toll on muscle and bone under the microscope
NCT ID NCT07154719
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Aug 28, 2026 · Updated 3 times
Summary
This study is looking at what happens to muscle and bone when people lose weight using the drug tirzepatide. Researchers want to see if adding protein shakes and resistance exercise can protect muscle and bone. The study will enroll 50 adults with obesity and track changes over 6 months using scans and blood tests.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Tirzepatide (a GLP-1 based drug for weight loss) plus a lifestyle toolkit of protein shakes and resistance exercise
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could help doctors understand how to preserve muscle and bone health during weight loss with GLP-1 drugs.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-phase study focused on measuring changes, not on proving a treatment works. Results may not apply to everyone.
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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Phase 4
Runs after approval, following long-term safety and how well the treatment works in everyday use.
- Participants
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About 50 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Oct 2025
- Expected to finish
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May 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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18 to 50 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.
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: * Subjects will have a BMI between 30kg/m2 * 40kg/m2 (inclusive) * Be between 18 and 50 years of age (inclusive). * Non-Hispanic Black males and females will be enrolled at PBRC. * Rural males and females will be enrolled at MaineHealth. * Female subjects will be premenopausal. * Females have had their last menstrual period less than 60 days before screening. * Females have the absence of menopausal-associated vasomotor symptoms. * All subjects must be able to use Lifestyle Toolkit as prescribed for intervention arm. Exclusion Criteria: \- Males and females over the age of 50 years of age * Menopausal females. * Subjects on systemic corticosteroids or other agents known to increase loss of muscle and bone mass. * Subjects who are on medications that increase or decrease weight status. * Subjects having contraindications to tirzepatide in the package insert. * Subjects with a history of malignancy other than non-melanoma skin cancer * Subjects with known osteoporosis or are on osteoporosis therapies (gonadal hormones or hormone antagonists). * Subjects with uncontrolled thyroid or parathyroid disease that may influence the study results. * Subjects with a clinically significant hematologic abnormality, kidney disease, liver disease, or diabetes. * Females of childbearing potential who do not agree to using an effective method of contraception during the study. Medically acceptable methods include oral contraceptive medication, an intrauterine device (IUD), an implantable contraceptive (such as Implanon), or a barrier method (such as condom or diaphragm with spermicide). Injectable contraceptives such as Depo-Provera are a cause for exclusion in that they can cause bone loss. Abstinence is acceptable, as is sexual activity exclusively with same sex partners. Fertility Appreciation Based Methods (natural family planning) are also acceptable forms of addressing childbearing potential in all subjects. A urine pregnancy test (UPT) will be performed on all females of childbearing potential at the screening visit, 3 and 6 months. * Unable to follow Lifestyle Toolkit as prescribed for intervention arm. * Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) Score equal to or greater than 15 (clinical depression). * Adults who are unable to consent. * Individuals who are not yet adults (infants, children and teenagers). * Pregnant females. * Incarcerated individuals. * Contraindication to MRI - including but not limited to non-removable metallic or electronic implants, claustrophobia or other fear of confinement, inability to tolerate loud scanner noise, body weight greater than 500 pounds. * Subjects with a baseline level of 25-OH vitamin D \<15 ng/ml will be excluded from the trial. The subject's physician will be notified, and the subject will be referred to their primary care physician. * Any significant EKG abnormalities that are considered a risk for utilizing weight management therapies.
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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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MaineHealth Center for Clinical and Translational Science
RECRUITINGScarborough, Maine, 04074, United States
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Pennington Biomedical Research Center
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGBaton Rouge, Louisiana, 70808, United States
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