Acarbose and Prandial Insulin for the Treatment of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus.

Summary

Caring for women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is very time-consuming. Therapeutic strategy includes dietary and lifestyle measures and additional insulin therapy for 15 to 40% of the women with GDM if the glycemic targets are not achieved after a period of 1 to 2 weeks of diet. Insulin therapy is imperfect for the following main reasons: need for education (i.e. subcutaneous administration, dose titration), hypoglycemia and weight gain, limited acceptance and high cost. Psychosocial deprivation is associated with more cases of GDM and health accessibility may be unequal. Glucosidase inhibitors (acarbose) reduce intestinal absorption of starch and reduce the rate of complex carbohydrate digestion. It mainly lowers postprandial glucose values and is used in type 2 diabetes for a long time. Less than 2% of a dose is absorbed as active drug in adults, with 34% of the metabolites found in the systemic circulation. Doses of up to 9 and 32 times the human dose were not teratogenic in pregnant rats or rabbits. Limited but reassuring data during pregnancy are available. Acarbose was well tolerated (little gestational weight gain, no hypoglycemia) with digestive discomfort in some women, balanced by treatment satisfaction as compared with insulin injections. Our hypothesis is that treatment aiming to control postprandial glucose values with acarbose as compared with prandial insulin injection will be as efficient and safe, but more convenient and less expensive.

Timeline

Start

2018-07-04

Primary completion

2023-08-12

Completion

2024-02-22

Publications

• Background Rowan JA, Hague WM, Gao W, Battin MR, Moore MP; MiG Trial Investigators. Metformin versus insulin for the treatment of gestational diabetes. N Engl J Med. 2008 May 8;358(19):2003-15. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa0707193.
• Background Langer O, Conway DL, Berkus MD, Xenakis EM, Gonzales O. A comparison of glyburide and insulin in women with gestational diabetes mellitus. N Engl J Med. 2000 Oct 19;343(16):1134-8. doi: 10.1056/NEJM200010193431601.
• Background Holt RI, Lambert KD. The use of oral hypoglycaemic agents in pregnancy. Diabet Med. 2014 Mar;31(3):282-91. doi: 10.1111/dme.12376.
• Background Zarate A, Ochoa R, Hernandez M, Basurto L. [Effectiveness of acarbose in the control of glucose tolerance worsening in pregnancy]. Ginecol Obstet Mex. 2000 Jan;68:42-5. Spanish.
• Background Platt J, O'Brien W. Title Acarbose therapy for gestational diabetes: a retrospective cohort study (abstract). Review AJOG 2003;189:S107

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Indications