Red blood cell sorbitol in diabetic children.
When red blood cells (RBC) were incubated with various concentrations of glucose, the RBC sorbitol level increased in a concentration-dependent manner. The elevated RBC sorbitol level was not reduced by further incubation in a glucose-free medium. In both diabetic and non-diabetic children, an increase of RBC sorbitol levels occurred in the oral glucose tolerance test and the return to baseline was delayed in diabetics compared with non-diabetics. In the majority of diabetics (87%), RBC sorbitol levels exceeded the upper limit of the normal range, which was arbitrarily determined as the mean + 2 s.d., in healthy non-diabetic children and adults. A good correlation was observed between RBC sorbitol levels and plasma glucose levels (r = 0.644). In both diabetics and non-diabetics, no correlation was observed between RBC sorbitol levels and age, and in diabetics the RBC sorbitol level was not related to the duration of disease. A good correlation was observed between RBC sorbitol levels, and hemoglobin Alc (HbAlc) or fructosamine levels in diabetic children.
Ishida
Y
Y
Department of Pediatrics, Osaka Medical College, Japan.
Okamoto
R
R
Mino
M
M
Konishi
K
K
D000293:Adolescent; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000097:blood*; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000737:chemistry*; D005260:Female; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013012:Sorbitol / Q000097:blood*
D001786:Blood Glucose; D013012:Sorbitol