Recruiting

Meal Timing

Sponsor:

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Code:

NCT07475377

Conditions

Multiple Sclerosis

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 64

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Time Restricted Eating

Unrestricted eating

Study Details

Brief summary:

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if the time an individual eats each day impacts neurological health in people with multiple sclerosis. The main questions the investigators are asking are:

1. Does meal timing affect biomarkers of neuronal health (neurofilament light chain \[NfL\] and BDNF) and inflammation (IL-6, IL-17, TNF-ɑ) in adults with MS.
2. Does meal timing affect expression of circadian clock genes and genes associated with autophagy in adults with MS.

Participants will be instructed to start and stop eating at specific times each day based on their group assignment and their personal schedule. They will respond to prompts sent to them on their smartphone to record the times they start and stop eating each day.

As a secondary goal, the study will also explore the feasibility of including translocator protein (TSPO)-PET imaging of neuroinflammation in future clinical trials of TRE in people with MS. To accomplish this, imaging will be completed in a subset of 8 participants at the beginning and end of the study.

Conditions

Multiple Sclerosis

Study ID

NCT07475377

Start date

Aug 1, 2026

Status verified date

Sep, 2026

Completion date

Dec 31, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Sep 1, 2027

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 64

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosed with relapsing remitting or secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (RRMS or SPMS)
  • If on disease modifying therapy (DMTs), stable for 6 months
  • If not on DMTs, no DMT usage within previous 6 months
  • BMI 18.5-50 kg/m2
  • Access to a smartphone
  • Responsible for personal eating schedule or able to have input into schedule

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Relapse within previous 30 days
  • Actively engaged in a weight loss program or unwilling to follow assigned eating schedule
  • Current use of GLP-1 or use within previous 3 months
  • Regularly fasts > 12 hours/day
  • Employed in night shift or rotating shift work
  • Unable to walk 25 feet with or without assistive device (EDSS > 6.5).
  • Current use of insulin or sulfonylurea agents
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding
  • Currently enrolled in another trial that would confound results (e.g., exercise studies or other diet studies)

Study Design

Enrollment

22 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Time Restricted Eating

Participants in this arm will eat all meals over the course of 8 hours/day. No instruction on type or amount of food will be given.

active comparator: Unrestricted Eating

Participants in this arm will eat all meals over the course of 12 or more hours/day. No instruction on type or amount of food will be given.

Interventions

Time Restricted Eating

Participants will eat all meals within 8 hours/day and fast for the remaining 16 hours/day.

Unrestricted eating

Participants will eat all meals over 12 or more hours/day.

Primary outcome measure

  • Neurofilament light chain [ Time Frame: Baseline and 12 weeks ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Brooks C Wingo, PhD

205-934-5982bcwingo@uab.edu

Locations

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Recruiting

Birmingham, Alabama, United States, 35294

Contacts

Kathryn Green

kathryngreen@uabmc.edu

Principal Investigator:

Brooks C Wingo

More Information

Sponsor

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Last update posted

Sep 25, 2026

Last verified

Sep, 2026

Keywords

  • Nutrition
  • Circadian
  • Multiple Sclerosis

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-26. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Alabama at Birmingham on 2026-09-25. Recruitment status is synced daily from ClinicalTrials.gov and may not reflect the sponsor's current status. Confirm during your call.