Skip to content

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

Semaglutide for the Treatment of Glucose Intolerance in Women with Prior Gestational Diabetes: a Double Blind RCT

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05569772
Acronym
SERENA
Enrollment
252
Registered
2022-10-06
Start date
2023-09-14
Completion date
2028-12-31
Last updated
2025-02-10

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

Conditions

Glucose Intolerance After a Recent History of Gestational Diabetes

Keywords

gestational diabetes, glucose intolerance postpartum, prevention, type 2 diabetes, GLP-1 agonist, semaglutide

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.

Interventions

maintenance dose of 1mg SC once weekly

maintenance dose of 1mg SC once weekly

Sponsors

University Hospital, Antwerp
CollaboratorOTHER
Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel
CollaboratorOTHER
General Hospital Groeninge
CollaboratorOTHER
Onze Lieve Vrouw Hospital
CollaboratorOTHER
Jessa Hospital
CollaboratorOTHER
Ziekenhuis Netwerk Antwerpen (ZNA)
CollaboratorOTHER
Vitaz
CollaboratorOTHER
Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liege
CollaboratorOTHER
Erasme University Hospital
CollaboratorOTHER
Centre Hospitalier Mouscron
CollaboratorUNKNOWN
Jan Yperman Ziekenhuis
CollaboratorOTHER
AZ Turnhout
CollaboratorOTHER
AZ Sint-Lucas Brugge
CollaboratorOTHER
Universitaire Ziekenhuizen KU Leuven
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
TRIPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator)

Intervention model description

multi-centric double blind RCT

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

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)

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
type 2 diabetesby 160 weeksdevelopment of type 2 diabetes defined by fasting glycaemia, oral glucose tolerance test and/or HbA1c according to the ADA criteria

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
gastro-intestinal side effectsby 160 weekspercentage nausea, vomiting or diarrhea
self-reported quality of lifeby 160 weekshealth-related quality of life by SF-36 questionnaire
medication for diabetesby 160 weekspercentage need for rescue therapy for diabetes
prediabetesby 160 weekspercentage prediabetes based on fasting glycaemia, oral glucose tolerance test and/or HbA1c (ADA criteria)
normoglycaemiaby 160 weekspercentage regression to normoglycaemia, based on fasting glycaemia, oral glucose tolerance test and/or HbA1c (ADA criteria)
BMIby 160 weeksmean BMI (Kg/m2)
waist circumferenceby 160 weeksmean waist circumference (cm)
waist/hip ratioby 160 weekswaist/hip circumference ratio
5% weight lossby 160 weekspercentage weight loss ≥5%
10% weight lossby 160 weekspercentage weight loss ≥10%
15% weight lossby 160 weekspercentage weight loss ≥15%
body fat percentageby 160 weekspercentage body fat measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis
HOMA-B indexby 160 weeksBeta-cell function measured by the HOMA-B index
insulinogenic indexby 160 weeksBeta-cell function measured by the by the insulinogenic index divided by HOMA-insulin resistance index
hypoglycaemiaby 160 weekspercentage with hypoglycaemia (\<54mg/dl)
the Stumvoll index.by 160 weeksBeta-cell function measured by the Stumvoll index.
Matsuda indexby 160 weekswhole body Insulin sensitivity measured by the insulin sensitivity index of Matsuda
HOMA-IRby 160 weeksthe reciprocal of the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (1/HOMA-IR)
metabolic syndromeby 160 weekspercentage of the metabolic syndrome based on the WHO criteria
Hypertensionby 160 weekspercentage blood pressure ≥140/90mmHg
heart rateby 160 weeksmean heart rate
LDL cholesterolby 160 weekspercentage LDL cholesterol ≥100mg/dl
Triglyceridesby 160 weekspercentage triglycerides ≥150mg/dl
symptoms of depressionby 160 weeksthe 20-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) questionnaire
anxietyby 160 weekssix-item short-form of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory questionnaire on anxiety (STAI)
Diabetes risk perceptionby 160 weeksDiabetes Risk perception questionnaire, a validated questionnaire to evaluate the perception to develop diabetes
sleep qualityby 160 weeksThe 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
ISSI-2 indexby 160 weeksBeta-cell function measured by theby the insulin-secretion sensitivity-2 index

Countries

Belgium

Contacts

Primary ContactKatrien Benhalima, MD PhD
katrien.benhalima@uzleuven.be16340614

Outcome results

None listed

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