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Contact the study team using the details below to take part. If there are no contact details below please ask your doctor in the first instance.

Contact Information:

Mr Dharshene Shivapatham
Dharshene.shivapatham@gstt.nhs.uk


Caroline Ovadia
caroline.ovadia@kcl.ac.uk


Study Location:

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Be Part of Research - Trial Details - GUARD

GUARD

Recruiting

Open to: Female

Age: 16 Years - 45 Years

Medical Conditions

Other maternal disorders predominantly related to pregnancy


This information is provided directly by researchers, and we recognise that it isn't always easy to understand. We are working with researchers to improve the accessibility of this information. In some summaries, you may come across links to external websites. These websites will have more information to help you better understand the study.


Is Ursodeoxycholic Acid an effective treatment for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus, compared to Metformin?
Each year in the UK approximately 35,000 women develop diabetes during pregnancy, a condition called gestational
diabetes mellitus (GDM), which increases the risk of adverse outcomes for both mother and child. Metformin, although unlicensed for used in pregnancy, is the most commonly used first line pharmacological treatment. However, there is increasing concern about its widespread use during pregnancy, because of its limited efficacy and because of potential safety concerns. Other common treatments have not been shown to be superior. Therefore, there is an unmet need for additional therapies.
Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) is commonly used in pregnancy for the treatment of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy. It is currently not an established/licensed treatment for GDM. However data from observational studies of women with cholestasis in pregnancy has flagged this to be a potential effective treatment to control blood glucose levels in GDM.
GUARD is a Clinical Trial that wants to explore the impact of UDCA compared to metformin in the treatment of GDM.
We want to recruit 158 women who are overweight or obese who have been diagnosed with GDM, and require pharmacological treatment. Glucose control is our primary measure.
We will ask women to attend three study visits, which will coincide with the time of their antenatal appointments. We want to collect a range of clinical and research blood samples, to measure quality of life and treatment satisfaction through two questionnaires, and we will ask women to wear a continuous glucose monitor for three 10 day periods.
There will be a number of optional assessments that participants will be offered. The primary outcome will be the fasting blood glucose concentration at 36 weeks of gestation.
We intend to carry out this study at 3 sites (Guy’s and St Thomas, Imperial College and Nottingham).

Start dates may differ between countries and research sites. The research team are responsible for keeping the information up-to-date.  

The recruitment start and end dates are as follows:

30 Oct 2020 31 May 2025

Observational and Interventional

Type: Drug;



You can take part if:



You may not be able to take part if:


1. Unwilling/unable to give written informed consent and comply with the requirements of the study protocol 2. Multiple pregnancies (twins, triplets etc) in current pregnancy. 3. Congenital anomaly on ultrasound requiring fetal medicine input. 4. Previous diagnosis of diabetes outside pregnancy. 5. HbA1c at booking >48 mmol/mol or ≥6.5% during current pregnancy (if available). 6. Significant pre-pregnancy comorbidities that increase risk in pregnancy, for example renal failure, severe liver disease, transplantation, cardiac failure, psychiatric conditions requiring in-patient admission (within previous year) in the opinion of the responsible clinician or the CI. 7. Significant co-morbidity in the current pregnancy, nephropathy (estimated GFR <60ml/min), other physical or psychological conditions likely to interfere with the conduct of the study and/or interpretation of the trial results in the opinion of the responsible clinician or the CI. 8. Not fluent in English and absence of interpreter or translation services (ie telephone translation services). 9. Participating in another intervention study where the results could influence GDM-related endpoints, in the opinion of the responsible clinician or the CI, or participation in a CTIMP during current pregnancy. 10. Known allergy/hypersensitivity/intolerance to the active substance or excipients, or patients taking any medications which are contraindicated as per IMP SmPC (as per Section 5.7). The Inclusion/Exclusion for the sub-study GUARD MEC will be specified in section 19. Mechanistic Sub-study: GUARD MEC.


Below are the locations for where you can take part in the trial. Please note that not all sites may be open.

  • St Thomas' Hospital
    Westminster Bridge Road
    London
    Greater London
    SE1 7EH

Caroline Ovadia
caroline.ovadia@kcl.ac.uk


Mr Dharshene Shivapatham
Dharshene.shivapatham@gstt.nhs.uk



The study is sponsored by King's College London and funded by NIHR Central Commissioning Facility (CCF); The Jon Moulton Charity Trust (Guernsey); .





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for Trial ID: CPMS 44480

Last updated 14 April 2025

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