SUGAR-DIP trial: oral medication strategy versus insulin for diabetes in pregnancy, study protocol for a multicentre, open-label, non-inferiority, randomised controlled trial

INTRODUCTION

In women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) requiring pharmacotherapy, insulin was the established first-line treatment. More recently, oral glucose lowering drugs (OGLDs) have gained popularity as a patient-friendly, less expensive and safe alternative. Monotherapy with metformin or glibenclamide (glyburide) is incorporated in several international guidelines. In women who do not reach sufficient glucose control with OGLD monotherapy, usually insulin is added, either with or without continuation of OGLDs. No reliable data from clinical trials, however, are available on the effectiveness of a treatment strategy using all three agents, metformin, glibenclamide and insulin, in a stepwise approach, compared with insulin-only therapy for improving pregnancy outcomes. In this trial, we aim to assess the clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and patient experience of a stepwise combined OGLD treatment protocol, compared with conventional insulin-based therapy for GDM.

METHODS

The SUGAR-DIP trial is an open-label, multicentre randomised controlled non-inferiority trial. Participants are women with GDM who do not reach target glycaemic control with modification of diet, between 16 and 34 weeks of gestation. Participants will be randomised to either treatment with OGLDs, starting with metformin and supplemented as needed with glibenclamide, or randomised to treatment with insulin. In women who do not reach target glycaemic control with combined metformin and glibenclamide, glibenclamide will be substituted with insulin, while continuing metformin. The primary outcome will be the incidence of large-for-gestational-age infants (birth weight >90th percentile). Secondary outcome measures are maternal diabetes-related endpoints, obstetric complications, neonatal complications and cost-effectiveness analysis. Outcomes will be analysed according to the intention-to-treat principle.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Utrecht University Medical Centre. Approval by the boards of management for all participating hospitals will be obtained. Trial results will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NTR6134; Pre-results.

Effects of sitagliptin on counter-regulatory and incretin hormones during acute hypoglycaemia in patients with type 1 diabetes: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled crossover study

AIMS

To assess whether the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor sitagliptin affects glucagon and other counter-regulatory hormone responses to hypoglycaemia in patients with type 1 diabetes.

METHODS

We conducted a single-centre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, three-period crossover study. We studied 16 male patients with type 1 diabetes aged 18-52 years, with a diabetes duration of 5-20 years and intact hypoglycaemia awareness. Participants received sitagliptin (100 mg/day) or placebo for 6 weeks and attended the hospital for three acute hypoglycaemia studies (at baseline, after sitagliptin treatment and after placebo). The primary outcome was differences between the three hypoglycaemia study days with respect to plasma glucagon responses from the initialization phase of the hypoglycaemia intervention to 40 min after onset of the autonomic reaction.

RESULTS

Sitagliptin treatment significantly increased active levels of glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide and glucagon-like peptide-1. No significant differences were observed for glucagon or adrenergic counter-regulatory responses during the three hypoglycaemia studies. Growth hormone concentration at 40 min after occurrence of autonomic reaction was significantly lower after sitagliptin treatment [median (IQR) 23 (0.2-211.0) mEq/l] compared with placebo [median (IQR) 90 (8.8-180) mEq/l; p = 0.008].

CONCLUSIONS

Sitagliptin does not affect glucagon or adrenergic counter-regulatory responses in patients with type 1 diabetes, but attenuates the growth hormone response during late hypoglycaemia.

PLS3 mutations in X-linked osteoporosis with fractures

Plastin 3 (PLS3), a protein involved in the formation of filamentous actin (F-actin) bundles, appears to be important in human bone health, on the basis of pathogenic variants in PLS3 in five families with X-linked osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures that we report here. The bone-regulatory properties of PLS3 were supported by in vivo analyses in zebrafish. Furthermore, in an additional five families (described in less detail) referred for diagnosis or ruling out of osteogenesis imperfecta type I, a rare variant (rs140121121) in PLS3 was found. This variant was also associated with a risk of fracture among elderly heterozygous women that was two times as high as that among noncarriers, which indicates that genetic variation in PLS3 is a novel etiologic factor involved in common, multi-factorial osteoporosis.

A randomized trial in primary biliary cirrhosis comparing ursodeoxycholic acid in daily doses of either 10 mg/kg or 20 mg/kg. Dutch Multicentre PBC Study Group

BACKGROUND

Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) prolongs transplantation-free survival in primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). However, the optimal therapeutic dose has not been established.

AIM

To compare the effects of UDCA administered in daily doses of 10 vs. 20 mg/kg on symptoms, liver biochemistry and biliary UDCA enrichment.

METHODS

A 6-month multicentre randomized open controlled trial was conducted to assess the effects of an increase in the dose of UDCA to 20 mg/kg/day vs. continuation of 10 mg/kg/day for patients who had not achieved biochemical normalization during treatment for at least 6 months with the 10 mg/kg dose. Clinical and laboratory evaluations were performed at entry and at 3-month intervals. The percentage UDCA in duodenal bile was assessed at entry and at 6 months.

RESULTS

Sixty-one patients were enrolled. No side-effects of UDCA were observed. Within the 20 mg/kg/day group significant decreases were found for alkaline phosphatase (- 8%; P = 0.003), aspartate aminotransferase (- 11%; P = 0.01), alanine aminotransferase (- 17%; P < 0.001), gamma-glutamyl transferase (- 34%; P < 0.001), immunoglobulin M (- 11%; P = 0.002) and cholesterol (- 8.1%; P < 0.001). In the 10 mg/kg group none of these parameters differed significantly from baseline. No significant differences between dose groups for symptom scores or serum bilirubin were found. Biliary enrichment with UDCA increased from 37% to 46% in the 20 mg/kg group (P = 0.02) while remaining stable in the 10 mg/kg group.

CONCLUSIONS

Liver biochemistry improved in PBC patients receiving UDCA 20 mg/kg/day compared to a dose of 10 mg/kg/day. Both doses were equally well tolerated. These results indicate that UDCA 10 mg/kg/ day is a suboptimal dose for treating PBC.

PET studies with L-[1-11C]tyrosine, L-[methyl-11C]methionine and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose in prolactinomas in relation to bromocryptine treatment

Aspects of metabolism in prolactinomas were investigated by positron emission tomography using L-[1-11C]tyrosine, L-[methyl-11C]methionine and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18FDG). Using L-[1-11C]tyrosine, four patients were monitored prior to and 18 h after an injection of 50 mg bromocriptine. At 18 h after bromocriptine intervention, L-[1-11C]tyrosine uptake into tumour was reduced with 28% (P less than 0.07). A correlation analysis of the bromocriptine-induced decrease in L-[1-11C]tyrosine uptake and the reduction of serum prolactin levels indicated that the action of bromocriptine on prolactin synthesis and prolactin release is not coupled. In the untreated situation, the four patients were investigated with 18FDG as well, but the prolactinomas could not be visualized. Three untreated patients were studied with L-[methyl-11C]methionine. The tumour-imaging potential of L-[methyl-11C]methionine and L-[1-11C]tyrosine appeared to be nearly equivalent for prolactinomas. Unlike prolactinoma tissue, the salivary glands showed a pronounced preference for L-[1-11C]tyrosine as compared to L-[methyl-11C]methionine. L-[1-11C]tyrosine is a valuable tool to obtain information on the metabolism and treatment of prolactinomas.

Alpha- and gamma-tocopherol in plasma, red blood cells, and platelets during plasma exchange

The effect of a rapid reduction of plasma lipoproteins on the alpha- and gamma-tocopherol levels in plasma, erythrocytes, and platelets was studied. Sixteen successive plasma exchange procedures performed weekly in an adult with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia were evaluated. Plasma exchange was done by intermittent flow centrifugation, exchanging one plasma volume against a 4% human albumin solution. Plasma exchange reduced in plasma alpha-tocopherol from 41.5 +/- 8.9 to 23.6 +/- 4.8 mumol/L and gamma-tocopherol from 4.9 +/- 4.1 to 2.4 +/- 2.1 mumol/L, without changing their ratios to total lipids. It diminished alpha-tocopherol in platelets from 12.97 +/- 4.37 to 10.03 +/- 1.78 mumol/10(13) cells and gamma-tocopherol from 1.43 +/- 0.55 to 1.06 +/- 0.41 mumol/10(13) cells, but did not affect erythrocyte tocopherols. The total amount removed per procedure was 47.57 +/- 13.65 mumol for alpha-tocopherol and 4.70 +/- 3.59 mumol for gamma-tocopherol. Plasma exchange increased the number of erythrocytes from 3.67 +/- 0.10.10(12) to 4.05 +/- 0.13.10(12) cells/L, without affecting their volume. Platelet count did not change, but mean platelet volume decreased from 7.7 +/- 0.5 to 6.9 +/- 0.5 fl and platelet distribution width from 15.1 +/- 0.4 to 14.9 +/- 0.5. Thus, plasma exchange reduces plasma alpha- and gamma-tocopherol to the same extent as total lipids, and decreases these tocopherols in circulating platelets, along with a reduction in platelet size and, compared to the change in erythrocyte count, a fall of platelet number.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)