Determining the Time of Diabetes Mellitus Onset by the Level of Glycosylated Keratin in Hair

    October 1992 in “ PubMed ”
    Rakhimova Gn, Akbarov Zs, Turakulov IaKh
    TLDR Glycosylated keratin levels in hair can help identify the onset of insulin-dependent diabetes.
    The study investigated the levels of glycosylated keratin in hair to determine the onset time of diabetes mellitus. It involved 17 patients with newly detected insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) aged 7 to 33, 14 patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) aged 46 to 73, and 41 healthy subjects. In IDDM patients, glycosylated keratin levels helped estimate the disease onset, revealing a 1-2 year latent period of carbohydrate metabolism derangements. However, in NIDDM patients, determining the disease onset was challenging due to limited hair length and a longer latent period exceeding 2-3 years.
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