Biomarkers of Cardiometabolic Risk in Children Treated With Antipsychotics: A Preliminary Study of Direct Measures

Completed

Conditions: Mental Disorders

Interventions: Procedure: Testing (MRS, US, DEXA, blood tests)

Registration Number: NCT00894738

Lead Sponsor: Washington University School of Medicine

Brief Summary: The proposed study aims to begin the multi-step process of establishing the reliability and validity of hepatic triglyceride content (HTGC) and carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) as biomarkers of cardiometablic risk in children treated for mental illness. The distribution of HTGC and carotid IMT-proximate indicators of cardiometabolic risk-across a range of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA)-measured adiposity in children treated with antipsychotic agents will be characterized in comparison to healthy, untreated, non-psychiatric controls, in order to estimate effect sizes for future studies incorporating these markers. The ability of HTGC and IMT to predict cardiometabolic risk as measured by commonly-used laboratory tests, such as fasting lipids, liver function tests, C-reactive protein and serum fibrinogen, will be assessed.

Detailed Description: Carotid artery intima media wall thickness (IMT) is one of the most developed biomarkers of cardiometabolic risk, with established reliability and predictive validity, and has been utilized as a surrogate endpoint for cardiovascular disease progression in FDA-reviewed registration studies. This technique has also been used in children and adolescents without psychiatric disorders, indicating that changes in IMT are positively correlated with metabolic syndrome criteria. Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (1H MRS) to quantify hepatic triglyceride content (HTGC) is a promising new marker of cardiometabolic risk, especially given the importance of nocturnal circulating free fatty acids in the development of insulin resistance leading to type 2 diabetes. Fatty liver, related in part to obesity, is the most common liver abnormality found in children ages 2-19, with one in ten children manifesting signs of macrovascular steatohepatitis. 1H MRS is a well-established methodology used to measure HTGC that correlates well with liver biopsy results. This technique has been studied in obese children without psychiatric disorders, and is widely considered to be the optimal noninvasive means by which to measure HTGC. Unfortunately, neither of these promising methods have been applied to the study of cardiometabolic risk in children with psychiatric disorders.

It is important to now study these biomarkers in psychiatric populations, where individuals are subject to treatments that can increase risk. Our group is experienced in the application of sophisticated, gold standard techniques for measuring cardiometabolic risk in psychiatric populations, and is-to our knowledge-the only group in the US using sensitive methodologies like stable isotopomer euglycemic clamps to study the pathophysiology leading to diabetes and cardiovascular disease in the mentally ill. An important goal of studying these biomarkers is to ultimately determine which of the more commonly available conventional risk measures (e.g., lipid profiles, adiposity measures) can be used alone or in combination to accurately identify children at highest risk, to aid in the development and targeting of effective interventions.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 44

Inclusion Criteria

Not provided

Exclusion Criteria

Not provided

Study & Design

Study Type: OBSERVATIONAL

Study Design: Not specified

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
antipsychotic treated	Testing (MRS, US, DEXA, blood tests)	Children with psychiatric diagnoses who are currently treated with antipsychotic medications.
healthy control	Testing (MRS, US, DEXA, blood tests)	Age- and gender-matched children who do not have a psychiatric diagnosis, are not taking antipsychotic medications, and are otherwise healthy.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Intrahepatic Triglyceride Content (IHTG) Measure by Liver Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy.	Week 1
Carotid Artery Intima-media Thickness Measured by Ultrasonography.	Week 1

Secondary Outcome Measures