Clinical Research Strategies for Fructose Metabolism

When:
November 13-14, 2012

Where:
Building 31C 6th Floor
Conference Room 10 NIH
Bethesda, MD

Additional Information:
http://www2.niddk.nih.gov/News/Calendar/FructoseMetab2012.htm


Consumption of simple sugars (sucrose, glucose, and fructose) currently is estimated at 20 percent of the U.S. diet on average. This coincides with what has been described as an epidemic of obesity and its complications, such as fatty liver, heart disease, and diabetes. Although excess calories are clearly at fault, there is a great deal of public and academic interest in the particular roles, if any, played by simple sugars in the common health problems of Americans. There are some outstanding studies in the literature on the metabolism of fructose and its effects on health outcomes, and many more are being conducted. The current interest, combined with the difficulties of studying a nutrient consumed as a large part of a typical modern diet, led the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to propose a small, 2-day workshop at the NIH Campus in Bethesda, MD, focused on clinical design for studies of fructose and sugar ingestion. Participants from academia, government, advocacy groups, and industry will be invited.

This workshop will showcase studies of the effects of fructose on human whole-body metabolism, energy balance, and obesity as well as on the liver, kidney, and adipose tissue.

Participants will discuss the following:

• What questions concerning human health remain to be answered?
• How might clinical trials be designed to provide interpretable data?
• What are appropriate outcomes measures?

For questions concerning meeting logistics, contact:

John Hare, CMP
The Scientific Consulting Group, Inc.
656 Quince Orchard Road, Suite 210
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
Phone: (301) 670-4990
Fax: (301) 670-3815
Email: jhare@scgcorp.com