New lifestyle program aims to tame type 2 diabetes with less medication
NCT ID NCT05766735
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests a program called Glycemic Excursion Minimization (GEM) for people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Participants use a continuous glucose monitor to see how food and activity affect their blood sugar, then make personalized changes. The goal is to lower blood sugar and reduce the need for diabetes medication compared to routine care alone. The trial enrolls 200 adults and follows them for over a year.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Glycemic Excursion Minimization (GEM) program
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this program could help people with early type 2 diabetes better control their blood sugar with less medication, potentially reducing long-term complications.
- What could go wrong
- This is a behavioral intervention, not a drug, so results depend heavily on participant adherence. The trial is relatively small (200 people) and early-stage, so findings may not apply to everyone with type 2 diabetes.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 200 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Aug 2023
- Expected to finish
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May 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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30 to 80 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria 1. Clinical diagnosis, based on investigator assessment, of type 2 diabetes within the past 24 months 2. Age ≥30.0 and ≤80 years 3. Hemoglobin A1c = ≥6.5-≤11% (medical record value \<6 month-old is acceptable) 4. Access to smartphone throughout the study 5. Diabetes management visit with medical provider within 12 months of screening date 6. If on weight altering medications (e.g., GLP-1, GIP), on a stable dose for about four weeks Exclusion Criteria: 1. Medications that impede weight loss within the last 3 months, per study physicians' discretion 2. Any psychotropic medication that could raise blood glucose, per study physicians' opinion 3. Conditions that preclude participating in the study (e.g., severe mental disease like manic depressive illness, severe depression, active substance abuse) 4. Conditions that preclude increasing physical activity (e.g., severe neuropathy, cardiovascular disease, COPD/emphysema, severe osteoarthritis, stroke) 5. Conditions that prevent doing the self-directed GEM program, such as inability to read English, mental health conditions that prevent engagement in treatment, such as active substance abuse, severe depression 6. Conditions that restrict diet such as severe gastroparesis, ulcers, or food allergies 7. Severe vision impairment that at PI discretion would preclude ability to read the GEM manual or see the information on the CGM or activity tracker 8. Currently undergoing treatment for cancer that in the opinion of the PI would preclude participation in the study 9. Renal impairment (for example eGFR \< 45 mL/min/1.73 meters squared; CKD-3b) 10. Currently pregnant or contemplating pregnancy within the next 14 months 11. Currently breastfeeding 12. Any condition that, in the opinion of the principal investigator, could interfere with the safe and effective completion of the study.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
2 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University of Colorado Department of Family Medicine
RECRUITINGAurora, Colorado, 80045, United States
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University of Virginia Center for Diabetes Technology
RECRUITINGCharlottesville, Virginia, 22903, United States
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