Clinical Trials

Research Studies - UCLA Center for Obesity and Metabolic health

The UCLA Center for Obesity and Metabolic health supports a number of major research programs.We offer advanced surgical and nonsurgical options for sustained weight loss and a better quality of life for you and your family. To achieve these goals, we’ve brought together a team of experienced specialists to research and treat obesity and its related conditions. The UCLA Center for Obesity and Metabolic health is an integrated research community where collaboration and interaction are fostered and prized. Scientists at the various research centers collaborate extensively with their clinical colleagues to find scientific solutions to specific obesity and metabolic health problems.

Current Clinical Trials:

Weight Loss After Bariatric Surgery: The Role of Changes in Appetite and Food Preferences

If you are a woman thinking about weight loss surgery, you may be eligible to participate in this research study. The purpose of the study is to explore the role that the brain activity -related to appetite, eating habits and food preferences- plays in weight loss after bariatric surgery and if a brain MRI could predict who will be successful in losing weight after surgery.

1. You must be a woman, between 18-55 years of age, right handed, and have no neurological or significant psychiatric history.
2. You must be eligible and approved for undergoing weight loss surgery (gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy).
3. Participation involves a screening visit and 3 MRIs performed before, 1 month and 6 months after weight loss surgery. Blood samples, body composition and information about food preferences/eating habits will also be collected.
4. Compensation: Up to $240, receive a free picture of your brain and free parking during the study visits.

This study is conducted by Dr. Claudia Sanmiguel, from the UCLA Program for Ingestive Behavior and Obesity and by Drs. Erik Dutson and Yijun Chen, from the UCLA Center for Obesity and METabolic Health (COMET).
If interested, please call (310) 206-1758 or (310) 825-3287.
Protocol ID: IRB#13-001552 UCLA IRB Approved Date: 10/9/2014 through 10/8/2015 Committee: Medical IRB 3

UCLA-Cedars-Sinai Obesity & Diabetes Pilot Study: Role of Gut Factors in Weight and Diabetes Control

If you are a man or woman diagnosed with obesity (BMI > 35) and non-insulin-dependent type 2 diabetes or prediabetes (either untreated or controlled with medications), you may be eligible to participate in this research study. The purpose of the study is to explore the effects of three obesity treatments – gastric bypass surgery, sleeve gastrectomy, and a very low calorie diet. The researchers will look at how each treatment influences several factors, including food preferences, taste, biological markers of obesity and diabetes, and the makeup of microorganisms that live in the human digestive tract, known as the gut microbiota. We hope to see differences in how the body’s metabolic pathways decrease weight and improve diabetes.

1. You must be a non-smoker between the ages of 18-70 years of age, diagnosed with obesity (BMI > 35) and non-insulin-dependent type 2 diabetes or prediabetes (either untreated or controlled with medications).
2. You must be a patient of the UCLA Center for Obesity and METabolic Health (COMET).
3. You must not have had prior weight loss surgery or a blood-clotting disorder.
4. You must not be using weight loss medications, hormone replacement, or blood-thinning medications.
5. Compensation: Up to $400 ($100 per visit), a free body composition analysis, and free parking during the study visits.

All study visits will take place at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, at the Clinical & Translational Research Center (CTRC). The study is conducted by Drs. Erik Dutson and Yijun Chen, from the UCLA Center for Obesity and METabolic Health (COMET), and Drs. Stephen Pandol and Marc Goodman, from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
If interested, please call (310) 248-6618.
Protocol ID: IRB# 14-001692 UCLA IRB Approved Date: 2/19/15