Hair Protein Glycation as a Long-Term Index of Blood Glucose in Diabetics

The study investigated the use of furosine, a glycation product, to measure hair protein glycation in diabetic patients as an indicator of long-term blood glucose levels. Hair samples, representing approximately 1 year of growth, showed poor correlation with fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels at the time of sampling. However, better correlations were found with the year-long average values of FPG, HbA1c, and conduction velocities in two peripheral nerves. This suggested that hair glycation could reflect long-term blood glucose trends and potentially indicate the relationship between diabetic complications and blood glucose levels.