Pilot Study of Exenatide Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics in Gestational Diabetes

This study is being done to study how exenatide, an FDA-approved drug that lowers blood
sugar in non-pregnant patients with type II diabetes, works in pregnant women. To do this,
we will study the drug's pharmacokinetics (what the body does to the drug; specifically, how
quickly your body breaks down and excretes exenatide) and pharmacodynamics (what the drug
does to the body; specifically, how effectively exenatide helps your pancreas secrete
insulin and how well it controls blood sugar after a meal). There are only two main drug
therapies (insulin injections and glyburide pills) currently used for gestational diabetes
and not all women achieve good enough blood sugar control without side effects. Therefore,
we hope to find out if exenatide might also be helpful in gestational diabetes.