Single-centre Descriptive Study of Taste in Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration Through the Analysis of Taste Evoked Potentials
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Blood test, Interrogation of the subject, Cognitive assessment, Nutritional assessment.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (FTLD). Basic parameters: from 18 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- France
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Overview
The FRONTAL-PEG study focuses on taste perception in frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). This neurodegenerative disease, characterised by progressive loss of nerve cells, is the second leading cause of dementia after Alzheimer's disease. Patients with FTLD often experience olfactory disorders (= sense of smell) and eating disorders: increased appetite, increased food intake and excessive consumption of sugary foods and snacking. This often leads to excessive weight gain. These eating disorders are still poorly understood at present. In this context, we hypothesise that an alteration in the gustatory pathway - i.e. the way in which the brain perceives taste - could contribute to the eating disorders frequently observed in frontotemporal dementia (FTD), particularly in the marked attraction to sweet foods. We therefore wish to objectively evaluate the taste response to a sweet solution (sucrose) in patients with FTLD, using taste evoked potentials (TEPs). Taste evoked potentials are a reliable and reproducible technique for assessing brain activity in response to taste stimulation. One of their advantages is that they are non-invasive. This study will document, for the first time in this disease, the characteristics of cortical (brain) processing of taste information. The FRONTAL-PEG study is an interventional, regional, single-centre study conducted at the Dijon University Hospital, in collaboration with the CMRR (Memory, Resources and Research Centre) and the CSGA (Centre for Taste and Food Sciences). All investigations are carried out at the CSGA (building adjacent to the Dijon University Hospital), with the exception of blood tests, which are carried out at the Dijon University Hospital. The total duration of participation in the study is one morning. No follow-up is planned at the end of the study.
Interventions
- Biological Blood test
Metabolic measurements and measurements of hormones related to food intake - Other Interrogation of the subject
Collection of socio-demographic data, medical and family history, medication - Other Cognitive assessment
MMSE and MoCA cognitive tests - Other Nutritional assessment
Anthropometric data (weight, height, BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference, android/gynoid ratio, triceps skinfold thickness, brachial circumference), bioelectrical impedance analysis (body fat percentage, lean body mass, body water percentage and bone mass in kg) - Other Taste tests
Recording of PEGs in response to a sucrose solution (prepared beforehand) - Other Sucrose taste detection test
Triangular test
Primary outcome measures
- Average latency of taste evoked potentials [Time frame: After a fasting period of at least two hours]
Eligibility 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
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: No
Study design
- Allocation
- N/A
- Model
- Single group
- Masking
- Open label
- Primary purpose
- Other
Study locations
France · 1 center
- CHU Dijon Bourgogne — Dijon
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07110207 · JACQUIN 2025