Effects of Berberine on Preventing Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes Mellitus

NCT ID: NCT05749874

Last Updated: 2025-12-31

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

PHASE4

Total Enrollment

2024 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2023-10-31

Study Completion Date

2026-12-31

Brief Summary

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This multicenter, double-blinded, randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effect of berberine on preventing cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus among individuals with high cardiometabolic risk in China.

Detailed Description

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The trial aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of berberine treatment for individuals with high cardiometabolic risk. Potential eligible patients will be recruited from about 100 medical centers in China. After a 4-to-6-week run-in period with berberine, all the eligible participants will be randomized (1:1) to berberine 500mg twice a day plus lifestyle intervention (Arm A) or placebo plus lifestyle intervention (Arm B). The participants will be followed up at month 3 and month 6, and once every 3 months thereafter, and be followed up for 3 years.

Conditions

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PreDiabetes Abdominal Obesity Hypertension Dyslipidemias Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

QUADRUPLE

Participants Caregivers Investigators Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

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berberine group

Berberine hydrochloride plus lifestyle intervention

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Berberine plus lifestyle intervention

Intervention Type DRUG

berberine hydrochloride 500mg twice a day plus lifestyle intervention. Lifestyle intervention is based on Chinese guideline for primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases, and Chinese guideline for management of type 2 diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction and stroke. Intervention includes health education on smoking, alcohol consumption, diet, physical activity and weight loss, etc.

placebo group

Placebo plus lifestyle intervention

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Placebo plus lifestyle intervention

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Placebo with identical shape, colour, odour and taste twice a day plus lifestyle intervention. Lifestyle intervention is based on Chinese guideline for primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases, and Chinese guideline for management of type 2 diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction and stroke. Intervention includes health education on smoking, alcohol consumption, diet, physical activity and weight loss, etc.

Interventions

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Berberine plus lifestyle intervention

berberine hydrochloride 500mg twice a day plus lifestyle intervention. Lifestyle intervention is based on Chinese guideline for primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases, and Chinese guideline for management of type 2 diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction and stroke. Intervention includes health education on smoking, alcohol consumption, diet, physical activity and weight loss, etc.

Intervention Type DRUG

Placebo plus lifestyle intervention

Placebo with identical shape, colour, odour and taste twice a day plus lifestyle intervention. Lifestyle intervention is based on Chinese guideline for primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases, and Chinese guideline for management of type 2 diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction and stroke. Intervention includes health education on smoking, alcohol consumption, diet, physical activity and weight loss, etc.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Participants aged ≥40 years old
* Participants with prediabetes, defined as glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) between 5.7% and 6.4%
* Participants with body mass index\>25kg/m2, or abdominal obesity (i.e., waist circumference ≥85 cm in female or waist circumference ≥90 cm in male)
* Participants with established atherosclerosis cardiovascular diseases (ASCVD), or with at least two cardiovascular risk factors: (a) hypertension (b) aged ≥45(male) / 55 (female), (c) current smoker, (d) HDL-C\<1mmol/L or TG≥2.3mmol/L
* Participants with established ASCVD required LDL-C≤70 mg/dL (1.8mmol/L) for participants with ASCVD or receiving optimized LDL-C-lowering therapy (at least moderate-intensity statin therapy, unless contraindicated or intolerant)

Exclusion Criteria

* Participants with FPG≥7.0 mmol/L, diagnosed with diabetes or taking oral glucose-lowering drugs
* Participants diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome, stroke, transient ischemic attack, or undergoing cardiac surgery or cardiac intervention (i.e., implantation of cardiac closure devices, cardiac resynchronization therapy, or catheter ablation), percutaneous coronary intervention or valvuloplasty/other cardiac valve repair or implantation surgery within the 3 months before randomization
* Participants who plan to perform coronary and/or non coronary revascularization surgery, or cardiac surgery within 6 months after randomization
* Participants diagnosed with heart failure or left ventricular ejection fraction\<40%, severe cardiac valvular disease, cardiomyopathy, congenital heart disease
* Conditions known to interfere with the accuracy of HbA1c measurement, including rheumatoid arthritis, hemolytic anemia, aplastic anemia, hemoglobinopathies, splenomegaly, splenectomy, vitamin B12 deficiency, alcoholism, long-term high-dose aspirin use, or chronic use of anesthetics or hydroxyurea
* Recipients of major organ transplants (e.g., lung, liver, heart, bone marrow, kidneys, etc.)
* Participants diagnosed with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency
* Participants taking berberine or drug containing berberine in the past 1 month
* Participants with any adverse reaction to berberine
* Participants with severe constipation, diarrhea, and/or severe chronic intestinal diseases (e.g., ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, irritable bowel syndrome, etc.)
* Participants who plan to have weight loss surgery, plan to take or currently taking drugs for weight loss
* Participants with active liver diseases, or alanine aminotransferase (ALT) / aspartate aminotransferase (AST) \> 3 times upper limit of normal
* Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) \< 45 ml/(min×1.73m2)
* Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, or those who plan to be pregnant during the trial
* Participants with malignant tumors, or other serious diseases with life expectancy of less than 3 years
* Participants with mental disorders, cognitive disorders, or other serious diseases that could affect study participation
* Participants who participated or have been participating other trials during the last 3 months
* Any other conditions that may hinder the compliance to the study intervention or follow-up visit
Minimum Eligible Age

40 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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China National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Jing Li, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases

Haibo Zhang, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases

Locations

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Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases

Beijing, , China

Site Status

Countries

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China

References

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Kong WJ, Vernieri C, Foiani M, Jiang JD. Berberine in the treatment of metabolism-related chronic diseases: A drug cloud (dCloud) effect to target multifactorial disorders. Pharmacol Ther. 2020 May;209:107496. doi: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2020.107496. Epub 2020 Jan 27.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 32001311 (View on PubMed)

Kong W, Wei J, Abidi P, Lin M, Inaba S, Li C, Wang Y, Wang Z, Si S, Pan H, Wang S, Wu J, Wang Y, Li Z, Liu J, Jiang JD. Berberine is a novel cholesterol-lowering drug working through a unique mechanism distinct from statins. Nat Med. 2004 Dec;10(12):1344-51. doi: 10.1038/nm1135. Epub 2004 Nov 7.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 15531889 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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2021-CXGC04-1

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id