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NCT04299308: AEROBIC

Acute Exercise and the Cerebral Metabolic Response in Aging and Alzheimer's Disease

Completed NA Results posted Last updated 23 July 2025
What this trial tests

NA trial testing Aerobic Exercise in Healthy Aging in 60 participants. Completed in 31 October 2023.

Timeline
28 August 2020
Primary endpoint
31 October 2023
31 October 2023

Quick facts

Lead sponsorUniversity of Kansas Medical Center
PhaseNA
StatusCompleted
Study typeINTERVENTIONAL
Allocationrandomized
Designparallel
Maskingnone
Primary purposebasic science
Enrollment60
Start date28 August 2020
Primary completion31 October 2023
Estimated completion31 October 2023
Sites1 location across United States

Drugs / interventions tested

Conditions studied

Sponsor

University of Kansas Medical Center

Who can join

60 and older, any sex, with Healthy Aging or Alzheimer Disease. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Results — posted to ClinicalTrials.gov

Per-arm endpoint measurements with 95% confidence intervals where reported. Source: trial results section.

Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Metabolism (Standard Uptake Value Ratio) Primary · Resting Vs acute exercise bout: ~1 month

FDG PET measures reflecting cerebral metabolism standardized to the uptake value of the cerebellum and standardized uptake value ratios (SUVR) calculated from native-space region of interest (ROI).

GroupValue95% CI
Moderate Intensity Aerobic Exercise-0.0514± 0.03
High Intensity Aerobic Exercise-0.0667± 0.03
Lactate Area Under the Curve Secondary · Resting Vs acute exercise bout: ~1 month

Change in lactate AUC between the resting and exercise condition

GroupValue95% CI
Moderate Intensity Aerobic Exercise40.3± 27.5
High Intensity Aerobic Exercise97.0± 50.8
Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) Change Secondary · Resting Vs acute exercise bout: ~1 month

Pre/post change in circulating Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor between the resting and exercise conditions

GroupValue95% CI
Moderate Intensity Aerobic Exercise610.2± 1071.9
High Intensity Aerobic Exercise353.3± 239.8

Adverse events — posted to ClinicalTrials.gov

Time frame: 1 month. Reporting threshold: 0%. Adverse-event reports describe events observed during the trial — not all are caused by the drug.

Moderate Intensity Aerobic Exercise
Serious: 0/29 (0%)
Deaths: 0/29
High Intensity Aerobic Exercise
Serious: 0/31 (0%)
Deaths: 0/31
Other adverse events (3 terms — click to expand)

ReactionSystemModerate Intensity Aerobic…High Intensity Aerobic Exe…
Abnormal ECGCardiac disorders
NauseaGastrointestinal disorders
Covid diagnosisInfections and infestations

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04299308 adverse events section.

Sponsor's own description

The overall goal is to characterize the acute exercise response as it relates to brain glucose metabolism in aging and Alzheimer's Disease (AD). The study team will also examine lactate metabolism, relationships with cognition, and the effect of exercise intensity.

Publications & conference data

6 peer-reviewed publications reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

  1. Epigenetic regulation of aging: implications for interventions of aging and diseases.
    Wang K, Liu H, Hu Q, Wang L, et al · · 2022 · cited 406× · PMID 36336680 · DOI 10.1038/s41392-022-01211-8
  2. Acute exercise alters brain glucose metabolism in aging and Alzheimer's disease.
    Green ZD, John CS, Kueck PJ, Blankenship AE, et al · · 2026 · cited 13× · PMID 39258961 · DOI 10.1113/jp286923
  3. Insights into the Role of Histone Methylation in Brain Aging and Potential Therapeutic Interventions.
    Vitorakis N, Piperi C. · · 2023 · cited 12× · PMID 38139167 · DOI 10.3390/ijms242417339
  4. Ketone body metabolism and cardiometabolic implications for cognitive health.
    Fulghum K, Salathe SF, Davis X, Thyfault JP, et al · · 2024 · cited 11× · PMID 40093558 · DOI 10.1038/s44324-024-00029-y
  5. Rationale and methods to characterize the acute exercise response in aging and Alzheimer's Disease: the AEROBIC pilot study.
    Green ZD, John CS, Kueck PJ, Burns JM, et al · · 2021 · cited 4× · PMID 34051350 · DOI 10.1016/j.cct.2021.106457
  6. Brain glucose metabolism changes acutely following exercise and tracks with the systemic lactate response
    Green Z, John C, Blankenship A, Kueck P, et al · · 2024

Verify or expand the search:

Other trials of Aerobic Exercise

Trials testing the same drug.

Other recruiting trials for Healthy Aging

Currently open trials in the same condition.

Other University of Kansas Medical Center trials

Trials by the same sponsor.

Verify against primary sources

Data sources for this page

Drug Landscape aggregates and links these public records for informational use only. Always verify against the primary source before clinical or regulatory decisions. Canonical URL: https://druglandscape.com/trial/NCT04299308.

Primary sources · FDA · ClinicalTrials.gov · EMA · SEC EDGAR · ChEMBL · Wikidata · full sourcing