Fructosamine

Excerpt

Diabetes mellitus (DM), a global epidemic, is increasing at an alarming rate and is associated with both increased morbidity and mortality. In 2018 the estimated prevalence of diabetes in the USA was 34.2 million people. Globally, the prevalence was 425 million people and this is expected to rise to 629 million by 2045. Currently, only plasma glucose and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) are universally accepted as reliable measures of diabetes control. In certain conditions, the HbA1c measurement is not reliable. An example is in patients with red blood cell (RBC) disorders and renal disease. Fructosamine, which is a measure of non-enzymatic glycation of circulating proteins including albumin, globulins, and lipoproteins, has evolved to be a reasonable alternative to HbA1c measurement in situations where HbA1c is not reliable. Because albumin is the most abundant of the serum proteins, fructosamine is predominantly a measure of glycated albumin (GA), which represents the percent of albumin that is glycated. Fructosamine and GA have a potential role in the diagnosis, monitoring, and management of diabetes.