Recruiting

Hormonal Therapy

Sponsor:

University of Michigan

Code:

NCT07848438

Conditions

Menopause

Menopausal Hormone Therapy

Aging

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: Female

Age: 50 - 70

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

HRT: High-Resistance Strength Training

Control: High-Resistance Strength Training

Study Details

Brief summary:

This study investigates the influence of sex hormones and exercise on age-related neuromuscular decline in females. Specifically, the research aims to evaluate how hormonal variations impact both age-associated neuromuscular decline and the subsequent adaptations to exercise and resistance training.

Age-related declines in neuromuscular function are especially pronounced in females, potentially due to the sharp drop in estradiol after menopause. This project will compare postmenopausal females who have not taken hormonal therapy (HT) to age-matched females taking HT.

Conditions

Menopause

Menopausal Hormone Therapy

Aging

Study ID

NCT07848438

Start date

Aug 20, 2026

Status verified date

Sep, 2026

Completion date

Aug, 2031

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Aug, 2031

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: Female

Age: 50 - 70

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Females who are pregnant or likely to be pregnant. Female subjects of childbearing age will be asked of the possibility of pregnancy and will be excluded from the study if they are pregnant or become pregnant during the study.
  • Females who are not currently taking HT but have taken HT in the past 5 years.
  • Severe obesity (body mass index, BMI, > 45 kg/m2): this will be calculated from measured height and weight
  • Untreated hypothyroidism
  • Uncontrolled blood pressure (>160/100 mmHg at rest)
  • Epilepsy or increased risk of seizures
  • Metal implants in the body, excluding the mouth
  • Head injury in the past 6 months
  • People who are taking any of the following medications: Medications that affect cortical excitability, Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use in the past 24 hours or chronic use of NSAIDs, Beta blockers or any other heart rate stabilizing medications, Any neurological, cardiovascular or musculoskeletal disease that precludes exercise testing

Study Design

Enrollment

120 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Non randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Basic Science

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy

Postmenopausal females who are currently taking hormone replacement therapy

experimental: Postmenopausal Female Controls

Postmenopausal females who have no history of taking hormone replacement therapy

Interventions

HRT: High-Resistance Strength Training

Each participant will attend 2 sessions per week for 8 weeks. A training session will start with a 10-minute full body dynamic warm-up (e.g., bodyweight movements and mobility exercises). The participant will then perform bilateral lower body high-resistance strength training exercises (leg extension and leg press) for 4 sets of 8-10 repetitions.

Control: High-Resistance Strength Training

Each participant will attend 2 sessions per week for 8 weeks. A training session will start with a 10-minute full body dynamic warm-up (e.g., bodyweight movements and mobility exercises). The participant will then perform bilateral lower body high-resistance strength training exercises (leg extension and leg press) for 4 sets of 8-10 repetitions.

Primary outcome measure

  • Strength - Maximal Voluntary Contraction (MVC) [ Time Frame: One session before and then after 8 weeks of training ]
  • Fatigability - Reduction in Power [ Time Frame: One session before and then after 8 weeks of training ]
  • Strength - 1 Repetition Maximum [ Time Frame: One session before and then after 8 weeks of training ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Sandra Hunter, PhD

(734) 647-9819sandrahu@umich.edu

Locations

University of Michigan

Recruiting

Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, 48109

Contacts

Sandra Hunter, PhD

(734) 647-6019sandrahu@umich.edu

Sarah Lessila, MS

slessila@umich.edu

More Information

Sponsor

University of Michigan

Last update posted

Sep 30, 2026

Last verified

Sep, 2026

Keywords

  • Menopause
  • Menopausal Hormone Therapy
  • Hormone Replacement Therapy

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-10-01. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Michigan on 2026-09-30. Recruitment status is synced daily from ClinicalTrials.gov and may not reflect the sponsor's current status. Confirm during your call.