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New technology ‘game changing’ for pregnant women with diabetes
Study shows automated insulin delivery could help pregnant women better manager their blood sugars compared to traditional therapy
Automated insulin delivery should be rolled out to pregnant women with type 1 diabetes, researchers at the University of East Anglia have said.
A new study published today shows that the move could help pregnant women better manager their blood sugars compared to traditional insulin pumps or multiple daily injections.
Automated insulin delivery, also known as hybrid closed-loop technology, gives insulin doses as informed by a smartphone algorithm. It works by taking readings from a continuous glucose monitor and uses an algorithm to tell an insulin pump how much insulin to deliver.
The system adjusts insulin doses every 10-12 minutes according to blood sugar levels, meaning that it continuously responds to the persistent changes in blood sugar levels throughout pregnancy, reducing the number of decisions a patient has to make every day.
Researchers at University of East Anglia trialled the hybrid closed-loop technology and compared it with the traditional continuous glucose monitoring and insulin systems, where women supported by specialist diabetes maternity teams, make multiple daily decisions about insulin doses.
The study involved 124 pregnant women with type 1 diabetes aged 18-45 years who managed their condition with daily insulin therapy. Half were randomly allocated to use the hybrid closed-loop technology, and half to use the traditional insulin therapy.
On average, pregnant women used the hybrid closed-loop technology for more 95 per cent of the time.
“Despite better systems for monitoring blood sugars and delivering insulin, altered eating behaviours and hormonal changes during pregnancy, mean that most women struggle to reach the recommended blood sugar targets,” said lead researcher, Professor Helen Murphy, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School.
“This means that complications related to having type 1 diabetes during pregnancy are widespread, affecting one in every two new-born babies.
“For the baby, these include premature birth, need for intensive care after birth, and being too large at birth, which increases the lifelong risk of overweight and obesity. Low blood sugars, excess weight gain, and high blood pressure during pregnancy are common amongst mothers.”
“We wanted to investigate how automated insulin delivery could help” she added.
“We found that the technology helped to substantially reduce maternal blood sugars throughout pregnancy. Compared to traditional insulin therapy methods, women who used the technology spent more time in the target range for pregnancy blood sugar levels – 68 per cent vs 56 per cent, which is equivalent to an additional two-and-a-half to three hours every day throughout pregnancy.
“It was safely initiated during the first trimester, which is a crucially important time for babies’ development. The blood sugar levels improved consistently in mothers across of all ages, and regardless of their previous blood sugar levels or previous insulin therapy.”
The team also found that women using the technology gained less weight and were less likely to have blood pressure complications during pregnancy.
Importantly, women using the technology also had fewer antenatal clinic appointments, and fewer out-of-hours calls with maternity clinic teams, suggesting that this technology could also be time-saving for pregnant women and maternity services.
“For a long time, there has been limited progress in improving blood sugars for women with type 1 diabetes, so we’re really excited that our study offers a new option to help pregnant women manage their diabetes,” said Murphy.
“We know that for women with type 1 diabetes, unborn babies are exquisitely sensitive to small rises in blood sugars, so keeping blood sugar levels within the normal range during pregnancy is crucial to reduce risks for the mother and child.
“Previous studies have confirmed that every extra hour spent in the blood sugar target range reduces the risks of premature birth, being too large at birth and need for admission to neonatal intensive care unit.”
Researchers noted some limitations, including that the current study was too small for a detailed examination of baby health outcomes, and that their results are specific to the CamAPS technology.
This, the team said, means the results can’t be extrapolated to closed-loop systems, with higher blood sugar targets, that may not be applicable for use during pregnancy.
Ovarian cancer cells quickly activate survival responses after PARP inhibitor treatment, and a lung cancer drug could help block this, research suggests.
PARP inhibitors are a common treatment for ovarian cancer, particularly in tumours with faulty DNA repair. They stop cancer cells fixing DNA damage, which leads to cell death, but many tumours later stop responding.
Researchers identified a way cancer cells may survive PARP inhibitor treatment from the outset, pointing to a potential way to block that response. A Mayo Clinic team found ovarian cancer cells rapidly switch on a pro-survival programme after exposure to PARP inhibitors. A key driver is FRA1, a transcription factor (a protein that turns genes on and off) that helps cancer cells adapt and avoid death.
The team then tested whether brigatinib, a drug approved for certain lung cancers, could block this response and boost the effect of PARP inhibitors. Brigatinib was chosen because it inhibits multiple signalling pathways involved in cancer cell survival.
In laboratory studies, combining brigatinib with a PARP inhibitor was more effective than either treatment alone. Notably, the effect was seen in cancer cells but not normal cells, suggesting a more targeted approach.
Brigatinib also appeared to act in an unexpected way. Rather than working through the usual DNA repair routes, it shut down two signalling molecules, FAK and EPHA2, that aggressive ovarian cancer cells rely on. FAK and EPHA2 are proteins that relay survival signals inside cells. Blocking both at once weakened the cells’ ability to adapt and resist treatment, making them more vulnerable to PARP inhibitors.
Tumours with higher levels of FAK and EPHA2 responded better to the drug combination. Other data link high levels of these molecules to more aggressive disease, pointing to potential benefit in harder-to-treat cases.
Arun Kanakkanthara, an oncology investigator at Mayo Clinic and a senior author of the study, said: “This work shows that drug resistance does not always emerge slowly over time; cancer cells can activate survival programmes very early after treatment begins.”
John Weroha, a medical oncologist at Mayo Clinic and a senior author of the study, said: “From a clinical perspective, resistance remains one of the biggest challenges in treating ovarian cancer. By combining mechanistic insights from Dr Kanakkanthara’s laboratory with my clinical experience, this preclinical work supports the strategy of targeting resistance early, before it has a chance to take hold. This strategy could improve patient outcomes.”
Nighttime temperatures during pregnancy may be linked to a higher chance of an autism diagnosis in children, a recent study suggests.
The research tracked nearly 295,000 mother-child pairs in Southern California from 2001 to 2014 and linked warmer overnight temperatures with higher risk in early and late pregnancy.
Children of mothers exposed to higher than typical nighttime temperatures during weeks one to 10 of pregnancy had a 15 per cent higher risk of an autism diagnosis.
Exposure during weeks 30 to 37 was linked to a 13 per cent higher risk.
Lead author David Luglio, a post-doctoral fellow at Tulane University, said: “A key takeaway is that we identified specific windows when a mother and her developing child can be most affected by exposures to higher nighttime temperatures.
“This is critical and hopefully can help mothers prepare accordingly.”
The study is described as the first to examine how temperature may affect fetal neurodevelopment, the process by which a baby’s brain and nervous system form during pregnancy.
Extreme temperatures linked to increased risk were classified as above the 90th percentile, meaning 3.6°F hotter than average, and the 99th percentile, 5.6°F above average.
The association held even after researchers accounted for factors such as neighbourhood conditions, vegetation and fine-particle air pollution.
The study could not account for other factors such as access to air conditioning. Researchers did not find the same association with daytime temperatures, potentially because people spend more time away from home during the day.
“Heat waves are becoming more frequent, and people may only think of the dangers of daytime heat exposure,” said Mostafijur Rahman, assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Tulane University.
“These results indicate a strong association between high nighttime temperatures during pregnancy and autism risk in children and show that we need to think about exposure to heat around the clock.”
The study did not examine how higher temperatures at night might affect prenatal development, though Luglio said it is possible that warmer nights disrupt sleep for pregnant mothers.
Previous research has suggested insufficient sleep during pregnancy may be linked to a higher risk of neurocognitive delays in children.
“Extreme heat exposure during pregnancy has been linked to a range of adverse health outcomes, including prenatal neurodevelopment delays and complications with an embryo’s development of a central nervous system,” Luglio said.
“The goal of our study was to specifically explore the link between prenatal heat exposure and autism diagnoses for the first time.”
Kindbody has launched a fertility platform integrating AI with clinical care and patient support for employers and health plans.
The platform will enter a pilot with select Kindbody employer clients in 2026, covering over three million lives, ahead of wider availability in 2027.
Building on the company’s clinical model, the platform aims to improve outcomes and cost efficiency across family-building journeys. It connects Kindbody-owned clinics, partner clinics and an integrated clinical app.
The app offers virtual care across conception, pregnancy and reproductive health, extending through the menopause transition.
Launch features include updates in medication management, third-party reproduction, adoption, pregnancy, men’s health and global programme design.
David Stern, chief executive of Kindbody, said: “With our next-generation fertility platform, Kindbody is redefining what comprehensive, intelligent and affordable family-building care looks like for employers, health plans and patients.
“By unifying best-in-class clinical care, AI-driven intelligence and whole-person support, we are making it easier and more cost-effective for more people to build the families they envision.”
Kindbody has expanded access via its national network of IVF centres, including IVIRMA, Inception Fertility and Ivy Fertility.
A new Fertility Medication Portal is designed to streamline authorisations so medicines can be dispensed on time, giving patients visibility from prescription to coverage, pharmacy fulfilment and delivery tracking.
Through KindMan, men’s health education, digital resources and integrated clinical care are expanding, including hormone management programmes.
Services cover andropause (age-related testosterone decline), erectile dysfunction, low testosterone and other male reproductive conditions.
Specialist fertility care includes semen analysis, diagnostic testing, male hormone panels, genetic testing, surgical sperm extraction and sperm cryopreservation.
Launching in the second quarter, a pregnancy support app will act as a digital companion for expecting and new parents, with resources, interactive tools and clinical assessments to identify social drivers of health and mental health needs during pregnancy and beyond.
Kindbody’s physician-led menopause programme provides consultations with board-certified obstetricians and gynaecologists to diagnose, treat and manage menopausal symptoms, including hormone replacement therapy where appropriate, with support from nutritionists, mental health therapists and pelvic floor specialists.
AI and analytics will be embedded across the care journey. An AI care navigator will guide employees from benefit activation through intake, triage and scheduling.
Tools will track benefits and treatment plans, showing coverage and expected out-of-pocket costs at each step.
AI-supported scribing will assist clinicians with documentation, and a predictor tool will estimate a patient’s likelihood of having a baby across different treatment paths.
In 2027, Kindbody plans a savings model for eligible large employers that it says will guarantee lower total fertility spend while improving clinical efficiency and patient experience.
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