Endocrine Abstracts

Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is formed from the addition of a glucose residue to the N terminus of the Beta chain of a hemoglobin molecule via a non-enzymatic glycation pathway. Its levels correlate with the ambient plasma glucose concentration. The 120-day life span of red blood cells makes HbA1c a useful tool to approximate the diabetic control of patients over three to four months. It has also been found to be an accurate predictor of the microvascular and macrovascular complicat...