Galantamine Effects in Patients With Metabolic Syndrome

It is recognized that inflammation can be modulated by cholinergic stimulation and that galantamine, an inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase enzyme with central nervous system action, has showed an anti-inflammatory effect, reducing body weight, abdominal fat and improvement in tissue insulin resistance in animal models. Galantamine is a safe drug that is used to treat alzheimer disease.Galantamine treatments of patients with the metabolic syndrome may represent a significant advance in management of this disease. This study aims to investigate the effects of galantamine on inflammatory markers, as well as on abdominal visceral and epicardial fat and oxidative stress in patients with metabolic syndrome. This is a pioneering study that will include expert support. The enrolling of subjects will have continuous monitoring throughout the period of treatment. The study is a double blind randomized prospective study with 60 patients with metabolic syndrome, to be randomized at ratio of 1: 1 placebo and galantamine. The dose of galanthamine is the standard clinically approved (8 and 16 mg). The tracking method include metabolic analysis, inflammatory and oxidative stress markers, hemodynamic evaluation with hear rate variability (sympatho vagal modulation) before, during and after treatment. Computerized tomography assessment of visceral abdominal and epicardial fat before and after treatment will be performed.