Can digestive enzymes boost nutrition in seniors?
NCT ID NCT06826105
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether a low dose of pancreatic enzymes (pancrelipase) taken with a nutritional supplement can help older adults at risk of malnutrition absorb nutrients better. Twenty hospitalized patients aged 70 or older will receive either the enzymes or a placebo alongside the supplement. The main goal is to measure changes in amino acid levels in the blood after eating.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Pancrelipase (Zenpep)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a simple way to improve nutrient absorption in older adults at risk of malnutrition.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small, early-stage trial with only 20 participants, so results may not apply broadly. The intervention may not show meaningful benefit.
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 20 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Sep 2025
- Expected to finish
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Jan 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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70 years and older
- 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: * Informed Consent as documented by signature * Male or female 70 years of age or older * Hospitalized at site * Nutrition Risk Screening 2002 (NRS-2002) ≥ 3 * eGFR ≥ 30 mL/min/1.73 m2 (EPI-CKD) based on medical history (no older than 6 months) * Ability to eat orally Exclusion Criteria: * Patients with acute cardiovascular event ≤ 2 days * Patients with terminal conditions * Patients diagnosed with pancreatic exocrine insufficiency (EPI) treated with pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) * Patients having a planned transplant or new-onset dialysis in the next 6 months. * Patients having a colectomy, resection of the small intestine or cholecystectomy * Known hypersensitivity to any of the substances or excipients of the ONS or the medicinal product
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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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Kantonsspital Aarau
RECRUITINGAarau, 5001, Switzerland
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