MedPath

Semaglutide for the Treatment of Glucose Intolerance in Women with Prior Gestational Diabetes

Phase 3
Recruiting
Conditions
Glucose Intolerance After a Recent History of Gestational Diabetes
Interventions
Registration Number
NCT05569772
Lead Sponsor
Universitaire Ziekenhuizen KU Leuven
Brief Summary

Gestational diabetes (GDM) is an important contributor to the increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Women with glucose intolerance in early postpartum are a particularly high-risk group with about 50% who will develop T2DM within 5 years after the delivery. Moreover, women with a history of GDM progress more rapidly to T2DM compared to women with similarly elevated glucose levels. Early intervention after the index pregnancy is therefore crucial to prevent T2DM. With the SERENA project, the investigators aim to reduce the risk to develop T2DM with the long-acting GLP-1 agonist semaglutide in women with a recent history of GDM and glucose intolerance in early postpartum.

Detailed Description

Patient population: Women with a recent history of gestational diabetes (GDM) and persistent glucose intolerance in early postpartum are a particularly high risk group, with about 50% developing type 2 diabetes (T2DM) within 5 years after the delivery. Semaglutide is a long-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonist with multiple beneficial metabolic effects, including glucose lowering effect, weight loss and cardiovascular protective effects. The investigators hypothesize that in women with prior GDM and glucose intolerance in early postpartum, treatment with semaglutide will reduce the risk to develop T2DM on the long-term compared to placebo.

Intervention and comparison: Belgian multi-centric double blind RCT with 13 centers to compare semaglutide (once weekly) with placebo in women with a recent history of GDM and glucose intolerance \[impaired fasting glycaemia (IFG) and/or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT)\] 6-24 weeks postpartum. Participants will be 1/1 randomized to semaglutide or placebo on a background of lifestyle measures. Semaglutide will be uptitrated to 1mg/week over a 8-week period. Participants will be followed-up for 3 years. Participants will receive a 75g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) 3-6 months after the stop of the intervention. Randomization will be stratified according to BMI at the early postpartum visit (\<25; 25-29.9 and ≥30Kg/m²).

Outcomes: The primary endpoint is the development of T2DM by 160 weeks defined by fasting glycaemia, OGTT and/or HbA1c according to the ADA criteria. Important secondary endpoints include the need for rescue therapy for diabetes, regression to normoglycaemia, weight loss, beta-cell function, insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome. To achieve 80% power, we plan a sample size of 252 to detect an estimated 50% reduction in the risk to develop T2DM between both groups, assuming a 30% loss to follow-up during the study.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
RECRUITING
Sex
Female
Target Recruitment
252
Inclusion Criteria
  1. Voluntary written informed consent of the participant has been obtained prior to any screening procedures
  2. Use of highly effective methods of birth control
  3. History of GDM (diagnosed with 2013 WHO criteria 24-32 weeks of pregnancy) and glucose intolerance 6-24 weeks postpartum (based on the ADA criteria)
  4. Needs to be able to understand and speak Dutch, French or English
Exclusion Criteria
    1. Participant has a history of any type of diabetes or auto-antibodies for type 1 diabetes, history of pancreatitis, family or personal history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or personal history of thyroid carcinoma or multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, severe psychiatric disorder in the past year, heart failure NYHA class 4, end-stage renal disease (eGFR <15) or dialysis, or history of bariatric surgery 2. Any disorder, which in the Investigator's opinion might jeopardise the participant's safety or compliance with the protocol 3. Any prior or concomitant treatment(s) that might jeopardise the participant's safety or that would compromise the integrity of the Trial 4. Female who is pregnant, breast-feeding or intends to become pregnant or is of child-bearing potential and not using an adequate, highly effective contraceptive 5. Participation in an interventional Trial with an investigational medicinal product or device 6. Age <18 years, breastfeeding >24 weeks postpartum or HbA1c≥6.5% at the time of the OGTT in pregnancy 7. Use of medication with significant impact on glycaemia (such as high dose glucocorticoids or metformin)

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
semaglutideSemaglutide Pen Injectorsemaglutide SC once weekly, up titration over 2 month period to 1mg/week (0.25mg once weekly, after 4 weeks 0.5mg once weekly and after 8 weeks the maintenance dose of 1mg once weekly), treatment duration of max. 3 years
placeboSemaglutide placeboplacebo SC once weekly, the same dose-escalation regimen, using matching injections, treatment duration of max. 3 years
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
type 2 diabetesby 160 weeks

development of type 2 diabetes defined by fasting glycaemia, oral glucose tolerance test and/or HbA1c according to the ADA criteria

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
ISSI-2 indexby 160 weeks

Beta-cell function measured by theby the insulin-secretion sensitivity-2 index

medication for diabetesby 160 weeks

percentage need for rescue therapy for diabetes

prediabetesby 160 weeks

percentage prediabetes based on fasting glycaemia, oral glucose tolerance test and/or HbA1c (ADA criteria)

normoglycaemiaby 160 weeks

percentage regression to normoglycaemia, based on fasting glycaemia, oral glucose tolerance test and/or HbA1c (ADA criteria)

BMIby 160 weeks

mean BMI (Kg/m2)

waist circumferenceby 160 weeks

mean waist circumference (cm)

waist/hip ratioby 160 weeks

waist/hip circumference ratio

5% weight lossby 160 weeks

percentage weight loss ≥5%

10% weight lossby 160 weeks

percentage weight loss ≥10%

15% weight lossby 160 weeks

percentage weight loss ≥15%

body fat percentageby 160 weeks

percentage body fat measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis

HOMA-B indexby 160 weeks

Beta-cell function measured by the HOMA-B index

insulinogenic indexby 160 weeks

Beta-cell function measured by the by the insulinogenic index divided by HOMA-insulin resistance index

the Stumvoll index.by 160 weeks

Beta-cell function measured by the Stumvoll index.

Matsuda indexby 160 weeks

whole body Insulin sensitivity measured by the insulin sensitivity index of Matsuda

HOMA-IRby 160 weeks

the reciprocal of the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (1/HOMA-IR)

metabolic syndromeby 160 weeks

percentage of the metabolic syndrome based on the WHO criteria

Hypertensionby 160 weeks

percentage blood pressure ≥140/90mmHg

heart rateby 160 weeks

mean heart rate

LDL cholesterolby 160 weeks

percentage LDL cholesterol ≥100mg/dl

Triglyceridesby 160 weeks

percentage triglycerides ≥150mg/dl

hypoglycaemiaby 160 weeks

percentage with hypoglycaemia (\<54mg/dl)

gastro-intestinal side effectsby 160 weeks

percentage nausea, vomiting or diarrhea

self-reported quality of lifeby 160 weeks

health-related quality of life by SF-36 questionnaire

symptoms of depressionby 160 weeks

the 20-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) questionnaire

anxietyby 160 weeks

six-item short-form of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory questionnaire on anxiety (STAI)

Diabetes risk perceptionby 160 weeks

Diabetes Risk perception questionnaire, a validated questionnaire to evaluate the perception to develop diabetes

sleep qualityby 160 weeks

The validated Pittsburg sleep quality index to evaluate sleep quality

diabetes remissionby 172-184 weeks (3-6 months after end of therapy)

diabetes remission rate after treatment stop, defined by fasting, OGTT and/or HbA1c

Trial Locations

Locations (13)

CHU de Liège

🇧🇪

Liège, Belgium

UZ Brussel

🇧🇪

Brussel, Belgium

UZ Leuven

🇧🇪

Leuven, Belgium

AZ St Jan Brugge

🇧🇪

Brugge, Belgium

Centre Hospitalier Mouscron

🇧🇪

Mouscron, Belgium

Jan Yperman

🇧🇪

Ieper, Belgium

AZ Turnhout

🇧🇪

Turnhout, Belgium

OLV-Aalst-Asse

🇧🇪

Aalst, Belgium

UZA

🇧🇪

Antwerp, Belgium

Erasme

🇧🇪

Brussel, Belgium

ZNA,

🇧🇪

Antwerp, Belgium

AZ Groeninge Kortrijk

🇧🇪

Kortrijk, Belgium

Vitaz

🇧🇪

Sint-Niklaas, Belgium

© Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved by MedPath