Clinical trial Recruiting at 1 site Interventional Ages 18 and up

Taste response to sweetness in frontotemporal lobar degeneration measured by taste-evoked brain signals

Official title: Single-centre Descriptive Study of Taste in Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration Through the Analysis of Taste Evoked Potentials

Run by Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Dijon · NCT07110207 · Data updated 2026-11-12

We are testing how people with frontotemporal lobar degeneration respond to a sweet solution by recording taste-evoked brain signals.

More Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration trials

Quick facts

Study typeInterventional
Ages18 Years and up
SexAll
Enrollment20 (estimated)
SponsorCentre Hospitalier Universitaire Dijon
Academic / other
Locations1 site (Dijon)
StatusRecruiting
StartedAugust 18, 2025
Main results expectedAugust 2027
Study endsAugust 2027
Registry record updatedAugust 24, 2025
Trial IDNCT07110207 on ClinicalTrials.gov

Is this trial a fit for you?

Likely a good fit

Adults with a diagnosis of established or probable FTLD who can give informed consent, have BMI < 30, meet cognitive cutoffs (MMSE ≥ 15 and MoCA ≥ 10), are not diabetic, are not heavy smokers, and can fast for at least two hours are ideal candidates.

Probably not a fit

Patients with severe cognitive impairment (MMSE < 15 or MoCA < 10), diabetes, pacemakers, pregnancy or breastfeeding, recent COVID-19, heavy smoking, or taking medications that affect taste are unlikely to be eligible or to benefit.

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

What this trial studies

The FRONTAL-PEG protocol records taste-evoked potentials (TEPs) while delivering a controlled sucrose solution to measure cortical responses to sweetness. Participants with a clinical diagnosis of frontotemporal lobar degeneration will also undergo cognitive, nutritional, and blood assessments and standard taste tests. Key eligibility checks include fasting, BMI limits, and cognitive screening, and the protocol excludes diabetes, heavy smoking, pacemaker presence, recent COVID-19, pregnancy, and medications that alter taste. Measured TEPs will be compared to expected responses to explore whether altered gustatory signaling may relate to the overeating and sweet preference often seen in FTLD.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this could help explain why people with FTLD overeat or crave sweets and guide targeted dietary or sensory interventions.

How similar studies have gone: Altered smell and taste have been reported in FTLD and other dementias, but applying taste-evoked potentials to measure sucrose response in FTLD is relatively novel with limited prior data.

Who can join: the full rules

Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria:

* Person who has given their free and informed consent
* Person of legal age
* Fasting \> 2 hours before PEG measurement
* Body Mass Index (BMI) \< 30 kg/m² (according to medical record data)
* DLFT: diagnostic criteria for established or probable DLFT

Exclusion Criteria:

* Persons not affiliated with or not covered by a social security scheme
* Persons subject to legal protection measures (guardianship, trusteeship)
* Persons subject to judicial protection measures
* Pregnant women, women in labour or breastfeeding women
* MMSE score \< 15 and/or MoCA score \< 10
* Known COVID-19 infection within 6 months prior to inclusion
* Active smokers (\> 4 cigarettes per day on a regular basis)
* Subject with a pacemaker (contraindication for bioelectrical impedance analysis)
* Subject with diabetes (type 1 or type 2)
* Taking medication (during the study) that interferes with taste

Where it's running

  • CHU Dijon Bourgogne
    Dijon, France
    Recruiting

Study contacts

Similar studies

Other studies for the same condition or treatment. Recruiting studies are listed first.

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.
Last reviewed 2026-11-14 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.