Rebalancing the Fat Content of the Heart and Muscles

Launched by UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN · Jul 3, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is exploring a new way to help people with type 2 diabetes by looking at how a medicine called Semaglutide affects fat inside the heart and leg muscles. While many diabetes treatments focus on controlling blood sugar, recent research shows that losing weight can also improve health outcomes. This study aims to understand better how Semaglutide might help by changing fat in important muscles and the heart, which could lead to better overall health for people with diabetes.

People who might be eligible for this study are adults aged 20 to 75 who have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes within the last 10 years and have a certain level of blood sugar control (measured by HbA1c). Participants should be overweight (with a body mass index of 27 or higher) but weigh less than 140 kg due to scanner limits, and they should not be very physically active. The study is looking for those who are managing their diabetes with diet or certain medications but not insulin. If you join, you can expect to take Semaglutide and participate in some physical activity, along with scans to see how fat in your heart and muscles changes. It’s important to know that people with certain heart problems, serious kidney issues, or other specific health conditions won’t be able to join, and the study requires the ability to do exercise tests and fit into a special scanner. This research is not yet recruiting participants but aims to find better ways to support people living with type 2 diabetes.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Patients with a confirmed diagnosis of type 2 diabetes established in the previous 10 years between the ages of 20 and 75
• • HbA1c ≥ 53 mmol/mol (7%) typically on diet and/or metformin/sulphonylureas (and/or sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors, Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors, thiazolidinediones, but not on insulin)
• • Patients who do not meet the WHO recommendations on physical activity (≤150 minutes per week) of moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA)
• • Patients who have a BMI of ≥27 but with a body weight of less than 140kgs due to limitations of the scanner table weight limit
• • Current or recent (within 3 months) eGFR \>30 mL/min/1.73m2)
• • Able to understand written and spoken English
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Any previously unknown cardiac condition other than mild valvular disease
• • Any history of known coronary artery disease (including myocardial infarction and myocardial infarction with normal coronary arteries)
• • Any relevant or untreated endocrine condition (i.e. Cushings)
• • Impaired renal function (defined as estimated glomerular filtration rate of less than 30 mL/min/1.73m2)
• • Blood pressure of more than 180/100 mmHg
• • Patients on any other medication known to influence glucose or fatty acids metabolism (niacin, omega-3 fatty acids, other glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists)
• • Patients with any dietary habits that may interfere with the investigation (for example high fat vegan diets, as we know form prior research that they have very different intramyocellular fat storage compared to those on no dietary preferences)
• • Patients with any history of any medical or surgical condition that in the judgement of the investigators may interfere with the exercise regime (i.e. peripheral vascular disease, arthritis), fatty acids metabolism (i.e. lipid storage diseases) or may compromise the safety of the participant (i.e. neurological syndromes for whom an intense exercise program could result in musculo-skeletal injury or accidents due to loss of balance).
• • Patients with a sensitivity to Semaglutide (known hypersensitivity, diabetic retinopathy, pregnancy, history of pancreatitis or history of any cancer)
• • Significant asthma or pulmonary disease
• • Participants unable to cycle on the ergometer
• • Unable to perform exercise testing (e.g. prosthetic limbs)
• • Pregnancy, breastfeeding or considering pregnancy.
• • Patients who have recently had gastrointestinal contrast or radionuclides
• • Inability to lie flat or remain motionless for scanning procedures
• • Patients whose girth size cannot allow them to fit in the magnetic resonance scanner (there is no set location to measure as this is different for everyone, but we have a plastic hoop that can be fitted around the largest circumference to check the fit)
• • Subjects who are not able to engage into a physical training regime or feel that they do not have the interest or sustained motivation to follow one.
• • Participants currently enrolled in other interventional clinical research
• • Participants not able to understand written or verbal English