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.
Quick facts
| Study type | Interventional |
|---|---|
| Ages | 18 Years and up |
| Sex | All |
| Enrollment | 20 (estimated) |
| Sponsor | Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Dijon Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (Dijon) |
| Status | Recruiting |
| Started | August 18, 2025 |
| Main results expected | August 2027 |
| Study ends | August 2027 |
| Registry record updated | August 24, 2025 |
| Trial ID | NCT07110207 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
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CHU Dijon Bourgogne
Dijon, France Recruiting
Study contacts
- Study coordinator: Agnès JACQUIN-PIQUES
- Email: agnes.jacquin-piques@chu-dijon.fr
- Phone: 03 80 29 59 02
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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.