35 and older, any sex, with Type2 Diabetes. 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.
Insulin SensitivityPrimary· Change from pre (day 1) - post 8-12 days of 1 hour of passive heating
Does chronic passive heating improve insulin sensitivity? Calculated using the QUICKI for fasting and Gutt for post-prandial, with glucose and insulin concentrations. A higher value means they have better insulin sensitivity.
Fasting - pre
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
0.31
± 0.03
Fasting - post
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
0.33
± 0.04
Post-prandial - pre
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
0.10
± 0.04
Post-prandial - post
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
0.10
± 0.05
Plasma Glucose ConcentrationSecondary· pre - post following 8-12 days of 1 hour of passive heating
Does chronic passive heating reduce plasma \[glucose\]?
Fasting - pre
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
10.06
± 4.51
Fasting - post
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
9.95
± 4.58
Post-prandial - pre
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
17.34
± 7.34
Post-prandial - post
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
16.84
± 6.49
Plasma eHSP70 ConcentrationSecondary· pre - post following 8-12 days of 1 hour of passive heating
Does chronic passive heating increase plasma \[eHSP70\]?
Pre
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
2435
± 984
Post
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
2524
± 790
Plasma IL-6 ConcentrationSecondary· pre - post following 8-12 days of 1 hour of passive heating
Does chronic passive heating reduce plasma \[IL-6\]?
Pre
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
5.60
± 10.46
Post
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
5.46
± 8.47
Plasma IL-10 ConcentrationSecondary· pre - post following 8-12 days of 1 hour of passive heating
Does chronic passive heating increase plasma \[IL-10\]?
Pre
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
13.55
± 35.88
Post
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
12.50
± 31.47
Resting Metabolic RateSecondary· pre - post following 8-12 days of 1 hour of passive heating
Does chronic passive heating reduce plasma resting metabolic rate?
Pre
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
1987
± 512
Post
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
1855
± 380
Flow Mediated DilationSecondary· pre - post following 8-12 days of 1 hour of passive heating
Does chronic passive heating improve macrovascular function? Measured via ultrasound
Pre
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
2.88
± 1.81
Post
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
2.45
± 1.56
Cutaneous Vascular ConductanceSecondary· pre - post following 8-12 days of 1 hour of passive heating
Does chronic passive heating improve microvascular function? Assessed via iontophoresis or the forearm with ACh and Insulin, Area under the curve is the unit. (CVC = skin flux/MAP; flux/mmHg-1)
Insulin AUC - pre
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
1.11
± 2.10
Insulin AUC - post
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
0.81
± 0.99
ACh AUC - pre
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
1.52
± 1.60
ACh AUC - post
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
2.06
± 2.77
Resting Heart RateSecondary· pre - post following 8-12 days of 1 hour of passive heating
Does chronic passive heating reduce resting heart rate?
Pre
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
67
± 12
Post
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
64
± 11
Stroke Volume IndexSecondary· pre - post following 8-12 days of 1 hour of passive heating
Does chronic passive heating increase stroke volume? Measured noninvasively via thoracic impedance
Pre
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
54.6
± 13.3
Post
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
49.4
± 11.3
Cardiac Output IndexSecondary· pre - post following 8-12 days of 1 hour of passive heating
Does chronic passive heating increase cardiac output? Measured noninvasively via thoracic impedance. L/min/m2 is the unit.
Pre
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
3.57
± 0.74
Post
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
3.05
± 0.54
TNF-alphaSecondary· Pre- v post 8-12 1 h hot water immersions
TNF-alpha
Pre
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
10.51
± 18.65
Post
Group
Value
95% CI
Passive Heating
10.15
± 18.14
Sponsor's own description
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a metabolic condition characterized by chronic hyperglycemia and progressive insulin resistance, which progressively lead to macro- and microvascular damage and subsequent impairments in blood pressure (BP) control. Therapeutic approaches to manage T2DM focus on improving glycaemic control and BP and include pharmaceutical treatments (e.g. Metformin and insulin), physical activity and exercise, and calorie restriction. However, pharmaceutical interventions can be expensive and are associated with low adherence. Although exercise and diet programs have been shown to be effective, like pharmaceutical interventions, they often have poor adherence in people with T2DM. With the number of people with T2DM (464 million) continuing to rise and expected to reach 700 million by 2045, the costs associated with the clinical management of this condition are likely to become unsustainable. There is, therefore, a need to explore the potential of alternative interventions. In particular, interventions which may be cheaper than clinical management and have better adherence than exercise, and hypoglycemic agents, to improve glycemic control and deleterious cardiovascular manifestations of this condition.
Passive heating may be one such intervention with therapeutic potential.
Publications & conference data
1 peer-reviewed publication reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):
Publications: Europe PMC API search by NCT ID, retrieved 10 June 2026
Drug + disease cross-links: matched in real time against Drug Landscape's normalised drug + company + condition tables
Sponsor: as reported to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Portsmouth
Last refreshed: 3 January 2025
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/NCT04858321.