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Galactosamine independently related to insulin resistance
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N-acetylglucosamine/galactosamine, or GlycA, was correlated with C-reactive protein and independently related to insulin resistance, indicating that it may complement C-reactive protein for evaluating the relationship between glucose tolerance, study data shows.
“[C-reactive protein] has been established as a risk factor for incident type 2 diabetes,” Carlos Lorenzo, MD, of the department of medicine at University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, and colleagues wrote. “GlycA also predicts future development of diabetes, but conclusive data on the relation of GlycA and [sialic acid] to insulin resistance or insulin secretion are missing.”
Researchers conducted cross-sectional analyses on data from 1,225 patients with (n = 278) and without (n = 947) type 2 diabetes who participated in the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study. The patients with diabetes were not assigned any glucose-lowering drugs. Researchers used IV glucose tolerance tests to measure insulin sensitivity index and acute insulin response, and measured GlycA and sialic acid (GlycB) using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.
Both GlycA and GlycB were strongly correlated with C-reactive protein (CRP; P < .001 for both), the researchers reported. A linear regression model indicated that GlycA (P < .01) and CRP (P < .001) were both independently associated with insulin sensitivity, even after model adjustment for BMI, smoking, demographics, physical activity and plasma glucose. Neither GlycA nor CRP was independently related to acute insulin response, according to the researchers.
“In summary, GlycA was related to insulin resistance and other features of the metabolic syndrome, independent of CRP, indicating that GlycA may represent an inflammatory pathway distinct from the CRP-related pathway,” the researchers wrote. “Further research in the field may help clarify our understanding of the inflammatory pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes and [cardiovascular disease] and the ability of GlycA to improve prediction models for [CVD].” – by Andy Polhamus
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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