| Diabetes Tests: Are They Effective or Ineffective? | | Print | |
| Written by Julia Hanf | ||||
| Thursday, 13 March 2008 | ||||
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This production moves the glucose from the blood cells to other cells so that it can create energy and growth. If enough insulin is failed to be produced, or our cells do not use it properly, you end up with the disease known as diabetes. Insulin is essential in regulating the body's blood sugar levels. Diabetes, if untreated can prove to be life-threatening or may cause some other serious effects. It should be tested as and when you find any symptoms. There are various tests known worldwide to diagnose diabetes and ruling it out. One such test is sugar level test. This test requires a pinch of blood to measure the level of glucose in the blood. In this test, you will be asked to avoid anything eatable or liquid at least up to 8 hours before the test. For patients that are already on dialysis treatment, this test has not been found to be accurate. The hemoglobin test does not give an accurate reading for those patients on hemodialysis. Hemodialysis is where the patient's blood is purified of toxins by passing through an artificial kidney machine. A patient must undergo this treatment in the event of kidney failure. There is another form of dialysis, called peritoneal dialysis which passed fluid in to the abdomen. This dialysis treatment can be performed in the comfort of the patients own home. Due to the fact that the diabetic dialysis patients have higher blood sugar levels, the A1C test may not give accurate results. While this test was once going to be accepted as the standard, it is now being proven that it is not nearly as accurate as it was once thought. Nearly 200,000 hemodialysis patients might not be receiving proper treatment for their diabetes. With nearly 95% of diabetic patients needing dialysis treatment, there has not been any definitive research done to sway the experts one way or the other. Until such a time, the A1C test is still the most helpful test for diabetic patients. In the United States alone, it is possible that nearly 200,000 hemodialysis patients, using this testing procedure may not be getting the proper care to control their blood sugar levels. Though this test was once considered the "gold standard", there are issues with the accuracy of the test. Regardless of those issues, this test is still helpful in the care of diabetes patients. The A1C test is helpful in measuring the hemoglobin percentage which actually reacts with glucose. The blood sugar controlled in last 120 days is reflected through this test. The A1C test was compared with glycated-albumin test which also measures the amount of blood sugar that reacts with albumin, a protein in the plasma. This test shows the control in blood sugar for past 3-4 weeks. Recent blood sugar levels were also determined. But this test brought about higher blood sugar and glycated-albumin level for patients on hemodialysis as compared to the A1C test which brought lower levels in comparison to patients with no kidney failure. This difference is due to the fact that A1C test depends on rbc's (red blood cells) survival which doest not resist for too long in patients of hemodialysis. The medication given to dialysis patients stimulates the production of RBCs in blood. According to some researchers, the glycated-albumin test is more accurate than A1C test when it comes to measuring the blood sugar among patients who are on hemodialysis. This information is also confirmed by the Japanese diabetic patients. This glycated-albumin test is yet to be proved with patients on peritoneal dialysis as well as to patients with kidney disease but not yet on dialysis. About the Author: Julia Hanf author of the book How To Play the Diabetes Diet Game and Win Through a real life crisis Julia figured out how to live diabetes free. Visit http://www.yourdiabetescure.com and learn more about your solution for diabetes.                  Only registered users can write comments.  Add as favourites (0) |  Quote this article on your site | Views: 69
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| Last Updated ( Thursday, 13 March 2008 ) | ||||
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