Glycated Albumin – More Than the Missing Link in the Evaluation of Diabetes Control

摘要

Diabetes mellitus represents a major public health problem in the world and glycemic control is very important in subjects with diabetes. Glycation of many proteins is increased in subjects with diabetes compared with persons without diabetes. Glycated albumin (GA) has emerged as a possible glycation index for intermediate-term diabetes control. There is evidence that GA can be considered a better parameter than glycated haemoglobin in many conditions including pregnancy, chronic kidney disease, liver diseases and anemia. Several reports indicate that GA plays a role in the pathogeny of diabetes complications, mainly in diabetic nephropathy and retinopathy. There are several limitations for using GA including the lack of standardization in the laboratories. Several studies are needed in order to understand the place of GA in the pathogeny of diabetes complications and the role in assessing the metabolic control.