Oral vitamin C to promote health in middle-aged and older adults

Is this trial a fit for you?

A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.

What this trial studies

This randomized, placebo-controlled interventional trial gives participants oral vitamin C or a matching placebo for 12 consecutive months and compares aging-related indicators and safety outcomes. Participants are asked to take two 250 mg tablets after breakfast and dinner each day and attend face-to-face follow-ups every 6 months with telephone check-ins every 2 months. Researchers will measure a panel of candidate biomarkers of human aging alongside routine safety labs and cardiac monitoring to identify sensitive indicators and monitor adverse events. A baseline control cohort with a wider age range is included to characterize normal aging changes.

Why it matters

Who can join: the full rules

Inclusion Criteria:

* Age: 55-65 years (for the experimental and control groups) or 18-70 years (for the baseline control group assessing aging changes).
* Health Status: Deemed to be in good health based on medical evaluation, including medical history, physical examination, laboratory tests, and cardiac monitoring.
* Weight: BMI within the range of 18.5-28 kg/m².
* Informed Consent: Capable of signing the informed consent form and complying with the requirements and restrictions outlined in the study protocol.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Disease Status:Uncontrolled medical conditions or any disease that, in the investigator's opinion, may pose an inappropriate risk or contraindication or interfere with the study's objectives, conduct, or evaluation.Severe chronic or acute diseases (e.g., cancer, heart failure, renal insufficiency, COPD, diabetes, active liver disease, metabolic acidosis, poorly controlled hypertension, epilepsy, recent cardiovascular events, inflammatory bowel disease, neurological disorders, infectious diseases, severe autoimmune diseases, etc.).
* Weight: BMI \< 18.5 or BMI \> 28.
* Substance/Alcohol Abuse: Ongoing alcohol or drug abuse, or excessive alcohol consumption.
* Medical History: History of gastrointestinal diseases, hyperuricemia, kidney or urinary tract stones, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, or paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria.
* Allergy: Allergy to vitamin C or any component of its formulation.
* Recent Medication Use: Use of high-dose vitamin C, vitamin E, low-dose aspirin, acarbose, metformin, NMN/NR, or other anti-aging/weight-loss drugs within the past 3 months.
* Informed Consent: Inability to provide informed consent.
* Other: Any physical condition that, in the investigator's opinion, may adversely affect the study process or outcomes.
* Clinical Research Participation: Participation in any other clinical research within 3 months prior to screening or during the study period, or receipt of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, biologic therapy, small-molecule therapeutic agents, or investigational drugs, with incomplete recovery from related side effects (excluding alopecia or potential neuropathy).

Where it's running

• The first affiliated hospital of Nanchang University
  Nanchang, Jiangxi, China Recruiting
• People's Hospital of Quzhou
  Quzhou, Zhejiang, China Recruiting
• Peking University Third Hospital
  Beijing, China Enrolling by invitation

Study contacts

• Study coordinator: Tian Tian
• Email: tiantianpku@126.com
• Phone: +8601082266355

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How to take part

1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
2. Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
3. Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.