The Metabolic Effect of Hypoxia and Steroid Signalling
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The Metabolic Effect of Hypoxia And Steroid Signalling (MEHASS) study: A study of the adverse metabolic effect of hypoxia and its effect on steroid signalling in healthy male volunteers
IRAS ID
178850
Contact name
Jonathan Hazlehurst
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 5 months, 15 days
Research summary
What is the metabolic impact of intermittent hypoxia in healthy volunteers and to what extent does steroid signalling drive this?
Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) effects up to 4% of UK adults. As part of the disease patients intermittently drop the oxygen levels in their blood overnight (intermittent hypoxia (IH)). OSA is associated with other conditions including obesity, fatty liver, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. All of these conditions are also seen as a side effect of steroids (either prescribed or because of disease). We have begun to show that hypoxia activates some of the same pathways as steroids and we think this is important in terms of developing some of the metabolic consequences like obesity and fatty liver. In particular we think that IH activates steroid pathways in fat (adipose tissue) and liver. Our goals are to study the effects of hypoxia on the metabolic pathways in adipose tissue and the liver and to see how important these steroid pathways are in relation to the hypoxia. The study will be conducted in in healthy male volunteers by using measurements of fat and carbohydrate metabolism and insulin sensitivity as well as small biopsies of fat from under the skin. Volunteers will have all of these tests at baseline and then receive either no treatment or a tablet to block the steroid signalling and have the same tests during conditions of intermittent hypoxia (by controlling the oxygen in the air they breathe). Volunteers’ involvement in the study will be approximately 1 month from the first to last visit. The study takes place at Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism and is funded by the Wellcome Trust.
REC name
East Midlands - Leicester South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/EM/0308
Date of REC Opinion
4 Aug 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion