Glycation of hair protein in the assessment of long-term control of blood glucose.

The study assessed glycation of hair protein in diabetic patients by measuring furosine levels in 12-cm-long hair, which represented one year of growth. It found that furosine levels correlated better with mean fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) values taken at three-month intervals than with FPG and HbA1c levels at the time of hair sampling. This indicated that hair glycation levels could reflect the average blood glucose levels over the hair growth period, suggesting that hair glycation measurement could serve as a useful indicator for long-term blood glucose control if appropriate hair lengths are sampled.