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Empagliflozin and the Preservation of Beta-cell Function in Women with Recent Gestational Diabetes

Empagliflozin and the Preservation of Beta-cell Function in Women with Recent Gestational Diabetes

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03215069
Acronym
EMPA post-GDM
Enrollment
91
Registered
2017-07-12
Start date
2018-07-01
Completion date
2024-12-31
Last updated
2025-03-07

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Gestational Diabetes

Keywords

gestational diabetes, SGLT-2 inhibitor, empagliflozin

Brief summary

Double-blind, parallel arm, randomized controlled trial, in which non-lactating women with recent GDM who are between 6 to 36 months postpartum to be randomized to either empagliflozin 10 mg daily or matching placebo. The duration of treatment will be 48-weeks. Beta-cell function will be assessed by Insulin Secretion-Sensitivity Index-2 (ISSI-2), measured on oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at baseline, 24-weeks, 48-weeks, and after a 4-week washout.

Detailed description

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), defined as glucose intolerance of varying severity with first onset and recognition in pregnancy, identifies a population of women who are at high risk for the future development of type 2 diabetes (T2DM). This risk of T2DM is mediated by the progressive deterioration of insulin secretion by the pancreatic beta-cells in the years after delivery, a pathologic process that current anti-diabetic therapies have not been shown to modify. Importantly, since very mild glycemia has deleterious but reversible effects on insulin secretion (glucotoxicity), the beta-cell dysfunction of women with recent GDM should have a prominent reversible component that potentially could be mitigated through the elimination of glucotoxicity. In this context, the sodium glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitor empagliflozin is a novel anti-diabetic therapy that specifically alleviates glucotoxicity and thus may be able to preserve beta-cell function. Coupled with its capacity to induce weight loss with low risk of hypoglycemia, empagliflozin could be an ideal therapy for diabetes prevention in women with recent GDM. Specifically, by eliminating glucotoxicity, SGLT-2 inhibition could enable the preservation of beta-cell function and thereby prevent the development of incident T2DM in this high-risk population. Thus, a double-blind, parallel arm, randomized controlled trial, in which non-lactating women with recent GDM who are between 6 to 36 months postpartum to be randomized to either empagliflozin 10 mg daily or matching placebo is proposed. The duration of treatment will be 48-weeks. Beta-cell function will be assessed by Insulin Secretion-Sensitivity Index-2 (ISSI-2), measured on oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at baseline, 24-weeks, 48-weeks, and after a 4-week washout.

Interventions

DRUGEmpagliflozin 10 MG

Empagliflozin 10 mg PO daily

DRUGPlacebo oral capsule

Placebo PO daily

Sponsors

Boehringer Ingelheim
CollaboratorINDUSTRY
Mount Sinai Hospital, Canada
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
20 Years to 50 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Women with recent gestational diabetes who are between 6-36 months postpartum inclusive and no longer breastfeeding * Age 20 - 50 years inclusive * Negative pregnancy test at recruitment

Exclusion criteria

* Current breastfeeding * Current diabetes or treatment with any anti-diabetic medication * Involvement in any other clinical study requiring drug therapy * Hypersensitivity to empagliflozin or the formulations of this product * Any history of diabetic ketoacidosis * History of recurrent urinary infection (i.e. more than 2 episodes over the past year). * Renal dysfunction as evidenced by estimated glomerular filtration rate \< 45 ml/min by Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) formula * Hepatic disease considered to be clinically significant (includes jaundice, chronic hepatitis, or previous liver transplant) or transaminases \>2.5X the upper limit of normal * Malignant neoplasm requiring chemotherapy, surgery, radiation or palliative therapy within the previous 5 years (with the exception of basal cell skin cancer) * Pregnancy or unwillingness to use reliable contraception. Women should not be planning pregnancy for the duration of the study or the first 3 months after the study. Reliable contraception includes the following: birth control pill, intra-uterine device, abstinence, tubal ligation, partner vasectomy, or condoms with spermicide. * Any other factor likely to limit adherence to the study, in the opinion of the investigators

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Baseline-adjusted ISSI-2 at 48-weeks48-weeksThe primary outcome will be measured by ISSI-2. ISSI-2 is a validated OGTT-derived measure of beta-cell function analogous to the disposition index obtained from the intravenous glucose tolerance test. ISSI-2 is defined as the product of (i) insulin secretion measured by the ratio of the area-under-the-insulin-curve (AUCins) to the area-under-the-glucose curve (AUCgluc) and (ii) insulin sensitivity measured by the Matsuda index.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Glucose tolerance status at 48-weeks48-weeksPrevalence of dysglycemia on the OGTT at this visit.

Other

MeasureTime frameDescription
Body mass index at 48-weeks48-weeks
Insulin sensitivity at 48 weeks.48-weeksInsulin sensitivity will be measured by Matsuda index on OGTT
Baseline-adjusted ΔISR0-120/Δgluc0-120 × Matsuda index at 48 weeks48-weeksand insulinogenic index/HOMA-IR.
Quality of life at 48 weeks48-weeksQuality of life will be assessed annually by the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36).
Central abdominal fat mass at 48 weeks48-weeksCentral abdominal fat mass will be measured by DXA assessment at L2-L4
Baseline-adjusted insulinogenic index/HOMA-IR at 48-weeks48-weeksBeta-cell function assessed by ΔISR0-120/Δgluc0-120 × Matsuda index at 48-weeks

Countries

Canada

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026