How sympathetic nerve signals affect blood vessels during the menopause transition
Official title: Sympathetic Vascular Transduction Across the Menopause Transition: Contributing Mechanisms
Run by University of Missouri-Columbia · NCT06787066 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This will test whether medicines that block sympathetic nerve signals change blood flow responses in women before, during, and after menopause.
Quick facts
| Phase | Early Phase 1 |
|---|---|
| Study type | Interventional |
| Ages | 18 Years to 70 Years |
| Sex | Women only |
| Enrollment | 75 (estimated) |
| Sponsor | University of Missouri-Columbia Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (Columbia, Missouri) |
| Status | Recruiting |
| Started | July 10, 2025 |
| Main results expected | December 2026 |
| Study ends | December 2026 |
| Registry record updated | September 15, 2025 |
| Trial ID | NCT06787066 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
Is this trial a fit for you?
✓Likely a good fit
Assigned female at birth, aged 18–70 with BMI <30 kg/m2, not pregnant or breastfeeding, not using hormonal contraception or hormone therapy recently, non-smokers, and without major cardiovascular, neurologic, metabolic, or other excluded conditions or prescription medications.
✕Probably not a fit
People who are male-assigned at birth, have BMI ≥30, are pregnant or breastfeeding, use hormonal contraception or hormone therapy, smoke, have listed medical conditions, or take excluded medications are unlikely to qualify or gain direct benefit.
A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.
What this trial studies
The trial gives short-acting alpha- and beta-adrenergic blockers to women at different stages of the menopause transition while measuring sympathetic nerve activity and vascular responses to quantify sympathetic vascular transduction. Participants are assigned female at birth, aged 18–70 with BMI under 30, and must be free of major medical conditions, smoking, or recent hormone use. Exclusion criteria remove those with cardiovascular, neurologic, metabolic, or bleeding disorders and those on interfering medications. All procedures are conducted in person at a single center and this is an early-phase interventional protocol exploring mechanisms rather than testing a long-term therapy.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could clarify why cardiovascular risk rises after menopause and point to treatment targets to protect vascular health in aging women.
How similar studies have gone: Prior studies using alpha- and beta-blockade and nerve recordings have linked sympathetic activity to vascular responses, but using these methods specifically across the menopause transition is relatively novel.
Who can join: the full rules
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * Assigned female at birth * 18-70 years of age * Body mass index (BMI) \<30 kg/m2 Exclusion Criteria: * Assigned male at birth * Pregnancy, breastfeeding * Body mass index ≥30 kg/m2 * Oral hormonal contraception in last 6 months, history of hormone replacement therapy, oophorectomy * Current smoking/nicotine use * Increased risk of bleeding, pro-coagulant disorders, clotting disorders, anticoagulation therapy * Nerve/neurologic disease * Cardiovascular, hepatic, renal, respiratory disease * Blood pressure ≥140/90 mmHg * Diabetes, Polycystic ovarian syndrome * Communication barriers * Prescription medications
Where it's running
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University of Missouri
Columbia, Missouri, United States Recruiting
Study contacts
- Study coordinator: Jacqueline Limberg, PhD
- Email: limbergj@missouri.edu
- Phone: 573-882-2420
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How to take part
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
- Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.