Recruiting

Cold Acclimation

Sponsor:

Université de Sherbrooke

Code:

NCT07573917

Conditions

Type 2 Diabetes

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 40 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Cold exposure with shivering

Study Details

Brief summary:

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is a widespread health condition characterized by impaired ability of the body to maintain glucose homeostasis. This impairment often leads to secondary complications, including heart disease, high blood pressure, and poor quality of life. While exercise and healthy eating are effective strategies in managing and preventing T2DM, data shows that long-term adherence to these methods are poor - especially among elderly, individuals with obesity and/or with physical limitations.

This clinical study explores cold exposure with shivering as a novel strategy to improve blood sugar control and heart health. In earlier research, spending time in mildly cold environments (around 15-17°C) for a few hours a day improved insulin sensitivity of T2DM patients. Interestingly, these benefits only occurred when the cold caused mild shivering. In a recent 10-day cold acclimation study with overt shivering for minimally 1 hour/day, we observed improved glucose tolerance in participants with overweight/obesity, as well as improved fasting lipid profiles. These results indicate that when accompanied with sufficient level of muscle activation, repeated exposure to cold can beneficially affect both glucose and lipid levels - both of which are impaired in people with T2DM.

In this study, we hypothesise that a 10-day cold acclimation with shivering will improve the (peripheral) insulin sensitivity of patients with T2DM, accompanied by enhanced skeletal muscle FA uptake and oxidation as assessed via the 11C palmitate uptake.

Conditions

Type 2 Diabetes

Study ID

NCT07573917

Start date

Sep 24, 2025

Status verified date

May, 2026

Completion date

May 31, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Oct 31, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 40 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients are able to provide signed and dated written informed consent prior to any study specific procedures
  • Women are post-menopausal (defined as at least 1 year post cessation of menses)
  • Aged ≥ 40 years and ≤ 75 years
  • Patients should have suitable veins for cannulation or repeated venipuncture
  • Body mass index (BMI) 25-38 kg/m2
  • Stable dietary habits (no weight loss or gain >5kg in the past 3 months)
  • Diagnosed with T2D at least 1.5 years before the start of the study
  • Relatively well-controlled T2D: HbA1c < 8.5%
  • Oral glucose-lowering medication: metformin alone or in combination with sulfonylurea agents and/or on stable dose of a DPPIV inhibitor treatment for at least the last 3 months. In case of GLP-1 agonist medication treatment inclusion will be discussed with the dependent physician.
  • No signs of active diabetes-related co-morbidities like active cardiovascular diseases, active diabetic foot, polyneuropathy or retinopathy
  • No signs of active liver or kidney malfunction

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Previous enrolment in a clinical study with an investigational product during the last 3 months or as judged by the Investigator
  • Participate in sports of physical activity at a moderate- to high-intensity more than 3 times a week, or as judged by the investigator
  • Being cold-acclimated, e.g. having taken daily extended cold baths, working in a refrigerated environment, or practicing regular cold-water swimming/ showering within 1 month of starting the study
  • Unstable body weight (weight gain or loss > 5 kg in the last three months)
  • Alcohol consumption of >2 servings per day for man and >1 servings per day for women
  • Smoking
  • Being insulin-dependent and/or using SGLT2 inhibitor medications
  • Patients with congestive heart failure and and/or severe renal and or liver insufficiency
  • Men: Hb <8.4 mmol/L, Women: Hb <7.8 mmol/l
  • A medical doctor will judge participation eligibility based on the medical history questionnaire, medication use and fasting blood parameters. If the medical doctor advises that a patient cannot participate, the patient will be excluded from enrolment.
  • Being pregnant
  • Having participated in another study involving PET/CT scanning in the past 1 year

Study Design

Enrollment

15 participants

Anticipated

Intervention Model

Single group

Primary purpose

Basic Science

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Cold acclimation with shivering

This is a single-arm longitudinal study with a 10-day cold acclimation intervention period. Pre- and post-intervention measurements will be obtained before and after the 10-day period.

Interventions

Cold exposure with shivering

Cold exposure which elicits a minimally 80% increase in the baseline metabolic rate of participants.

Primary outcome measure

  • Whole-body insulin sensitivity measured as glucose infusion rate (GIR) in µmol/kg/min during the stable period of the low- and high-insulin phase of the clamp. [ Time Frame: At baseline and Day 13. ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Frédérique Frisch

819-346-1110frederique.frisch@usherbrooke.ca

Locations

Centre de recherche du CHUS

Recruiting

Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, J1H 5N4

Contacts

Frédérique Frisch

819-346-1110frederique.frisch@usherbrooke.ca

More Information

Sponsor

Université de Sherbrooke

Last update posted

May 7, 2026

Last verified

May, 2026

Keywords

  • Insulin sensitivity
  • Substrate metabolism
  • shivering thermogensis
  • cardiometabolic health

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Université de Sherbrooke on 2026-05-07.