Glycated Albumin; a Laboratory Test Used For Short-Term Monitoring of Diabetes

 

Glycated Albumin refers to albumin that are bonded to glucose. Albumin is the most common type of protein found in the blood and is replaced in the body about every 20-25 days. Albumin helps in the distribution of nutrients, hormones, and some drugs in the body, and to maintain the shape of cell. Glycated albumin has been described as a novel biomarker for the detection and management of diabetes. It has also gained importance in glycemic monitoring for diabetes mellitus. Albumin is present in the blood, as well as in body fluids and organs. Albumin provides the body with the protein needed to both maintain growth and repair tissues.

The recent explosion of medical research on Glycated Albumin's ability to successfully monitor and control diabetes has opened up a whole new and more thorough level of knowledge about how this important molecule affects the progression and outcome of the disease. The molecular basis of glycated albumin's effect on diabetes is relatively simple and predicated on a simple but profound observation-the fact that locating units of albumin, a major component of the human innate immune system, become less sticky as they age.

This less-sticky component of the protein begins to grab or cling to cells in the blood, where it builds up an impermeable layer over the cells' surface and forms a physical barrier blocking the exchange of nutrients. Without this barrier, the cells cannot absorb the glucose or other nutrients they need. This results in the diminished ability of the cells to provide the body with energy and perform other functions, like the production of hormones and enzymes, and the breakdown of other tissues.

Glycated Albumin has been found to have many contributing factors to these effects, and has also been found to trigger a certain kind of chemical reaction in cells, called glycation, which further inhibits their ability to absorb the glucose and other nutrients they need. Glycated albumin has now emerged as one of the key players in the progression of type 2 diabetes. Thus, with the increasing prevalence of diabetes worldwide, the demand for glycated albumin is also increasing. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 34.2 million people in the United States have diabetes.