title: Glycated albumin and diabetes mellitus.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Diabetes is a growing worldwide problem that is strongly associated with atherosclerosis. Screening and intervention for diabetes in the earliest stages are advocated for the prevention of diabetic complications and cardiovascular disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  This review gives a background of and discusses the potential clinical utility of glycated albumin (GA) in diabetes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  GA is a ketoamine formed via a non-enzymatic glycation reaction of serum albumin and it reflects mean glycemia over two to three weeks. GA can be used for patients with anemia or hemoglobinopathies for whom the clinically measured hemoglobin A1c level may be inaccurate. Because both serum and plasma samples can be used, GA can be analyzed from the same samples as common biological markers. GA is a useful marker for the screening of diabetes in a medical evaluation. It can be also used to determine the effectiveness of treatment before initiating or changing medications for diabetic patients. GA is potentially an atherogenic protein in the development of diabetic atherosclerosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  GA measurement is useful as part of a routine examination to screen for both diabetes and atherosclerosis. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Serum Albumin.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Internal Medicine, Kyushu University Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan. Electronic address: furusyo@gim.med.kyushu-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Norihiro
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Furusyo
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hayashi
mesh_terms: D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000097:blood; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000097:blood*; D017127:Glycation End Products, Advanced; D006801:Humans; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000378:metabolism*; D000093423:Glycated Serum Albumin
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D017127:Glycation End Products, Advanced; D012709:Serum Albumin; D000093423:Glycated Serum Albumin
keywords: 1,5-AG; 1,5-anhydroglacitol; AGE; ARIC; Atherosclerosis; Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities; C-reactive protein; CHD; CKD; CRP; CV; Diabetes; ESRD; FN3K; GA; Glycated albumin; HPLC; HbA1c; Hemoglobin A1c; IMT; KOPS; Kyushu and Okinawa Population Study; NGSP; National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program; Postprandial hyperglycemia; ROC; SNP; advanced glycation end product; chronic kidney disease; coefficient of variation; coronary heart disease; end-stage renal disease; fructosamine-3-kinase; glycated albumin; hemoglobin A1c; high performance liquid chromatography; high sensitivity-CRP; hs-CRP; intima media thickness; receiver operating characteristic; single nucleotide polymorphism