Mitigating the Pro-inflammatory Phenotype of Obesity Using Oral Clonidine Compared with Hydrochlorothiazide and Placebo

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating whether blocking sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) with oral clonidine for 4 weeks can reduce inflammatory markers in the blood, endothelial cells, and central adipose tissue. This randomized, double-blinded study compares the effect of clonidine against a blood pressure-lowering control drug (hydrochlorothiazide) and a placebo. The study aims to understand how much inflammation is caused by elevated SNA in people with obesity and hypertension. Participants are randomly assigned to one of three groups: clonidine, hydrochlorothiazide, or placebo. Each treatment is given orally for 4 weeks with clonidine dosed at 0.1 mg twice daily, hydrochlorothiazide dosed at 12.5 mg twice daily, and placebo pills designed to look like the study drugs but contain no active ingredients. All medications are supplied in 35-day pill bottles by the investigational pharmacy. During the study, participants will visit the research lab and undergo blood draws and tissue sampling at baseline, 1 week, 2 weeks, and 4 weeks to measure inflammatory markers. Blood work, endothelial cell samples, and adipose tissue samples are collected to assess the impact of the treatments. Safety and efficacy are monitored throughout the 4-week treatment period, with the total participation lasting about one month.

Mitigating the Pro-inflammatory Phenotype of Obesity