Glycated albumin: an indicator for glycemic control.

Author(s): Brijesh Mukherjee

Abstract

The progressive complications of unmanaged diabetes include heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, amputation of extremities due to circulation problems, and nerve disorders, as well as other chronic conditions. Decades of research have established that prolonged exposure to excess glucose is the cause of diabetes complications, and that long-term control of blood glucose levels is required to avoid or lessen the damage caused by excess glucose. The process of protein glycation is now understood to be both a marker for the progress of diabetes complications and an underlying cause of many of the most serious complications. Diabetes monitoring for protein glycation, an essential element for the long-term control of the complications of diabetes mellitus, is currently managed by a combination of daily self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) measurements and physician-assessed hemoglobin A1c (A1C) levels every 3–6 months. Short term methods like self-monitoring of blood glucose and long term methods like measurement of HbA1c have limitations. Various researchers have identified glycated albumin (GA) as the ideal marker for an intermediate index to measure glycation.

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