Therapeutic Fasting and Immune Aging

Launched by CENTRE HOSPITALIER UNIVERSITAIRE DE SAINT ETIENNE · May 10, 2023

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying how therapeutic fasting, which means following a specific diet that includes periods of not eating, may help improve the immune system in older adults. As we age, our immune system can weaken, making it harder to fight infections and respond to vaccines. The hope is that fasting can help boost the immune response and improve overall health in those who are older.

To participate in the trial, individuals need to be living in a long-term care facility and be able to follow the dietary guidelines set by the study. They must also be connected to a social security scheme and have consented to join the study. However, certain people may not be eligible, such as those with specific health conditions or recent significant weight loss. Participants can expect to follow a fasting diet and will receive support from healthcare professionals throughout the study. This trial is not yet recruiting participants, but it aims to gather important information that could benefit older adults in the future.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria :
• • Patient affiliated or entitled to a social security scheme
• • Residing in a Long-Term Care Unit (LTCU) or a Facility for the Elderly Dependent (EHPAD)
• • A person deemed a priori, by the geriatrician member of the monitoring committee, to be capable of following the dietary recommendations required for the study.
• • A person deemed a priori, by the clinician in charge, to be able to follow the dietary recommendations required by the study.
• • Patient who has received informed information about the study and has co-signed a consent to participate in the study with the investigator.
• Exclusion Criteria :
• • Inability and/or unwillingness to follow dietary recommendations and/or perform follow-up examinations required for the study
• • Iso-resource group 1 or 2 according to the AGGIR grid
• • BMI \< 18.5 kg/m2 or recent weight loss \> 5% in 1 month or recent weight loss \> 10% in 6 months from previous weight
• • Albuminemia \< 30g/l
• • All swallowing disorders requiring a specific diet.
• • Influenza vaccination received prior to inclusion
• • Episode of influenza or suspected influenza during the 2020-2021 season and prior to inclusion
• • Any acute medical or surgical event less than 2 weeks prior to inclusion
• • Presence of systemic inflammatory or autoimmune disease
• • Presence of an innate or acquired immune deficiency (including taking immunosuppressive treatment)
• • Presence of a chronic disease which, according to the physician, makes the follow-up of a "fasting diet" and/or the consumption of large amounts of liquids (cf. fasting diet modalities) risky (e.g. insulin-dependent or insulin-requiring diabetes, severe heart failure, severe kidney failure, active cancer, significant undernutrition...) or impossible (e.g. advanced neurodegenerative pathology).