AACC 2015: New Tests Could Make Diagnosing Diabetes Easier

Two new research studies presented at the 2015 American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) Annual Meeting and Lab Expo, show promise for quicker and less-expensive ways to detect diabetes.

One study was able to identify a new biomarker for gestational diabetes, while the second used fingernail clippings as a non-invasive, inexpensive way to determine diabetes in its standard form, according to the AACC’s press release.

Quicker blood test for gestational diabetes

Researchers led by Sridevi Devaraj, Ph.D., director of clinical chemistry at Texas Children’s Hospital, measured levels of three separate types of proteins in blood samples of 124 pregnant women. Levels of one of the proteins — 1,5-Anhydroglucitol (1,5-AG) — were significantly different between women diagnosed with gestational diabetes and those who were not.

A benefit of the new biomarker is that it has a short “half-life” of two weeks, compared to the standard test, which measures the patient’s glucose blood levels – through levels of the biomarker glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) — over a period of three months.

Gestational diabetes is not diagnosed until the third trimester, so the traditional blood test can make it difficult to closely monitor glucose levels during pregnancy.

The team also established a diagnostic cut-off value of 1.27U/L, at which point the biomarker represented 75 percent sensitivity and 65 percent specificity for diagnosing gestational diabetes.

“Our findings are very preliminary and need to be confirmed in larger groups of women,” Devaraj, professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, said in the release, “but, if confirmed, they suggest a possible new and more immediate approach for diagnosing and monitoring diabetes during pregnancy.”

Fingernail diagnosis

The second study used a spectrometer to analyze fingernail clippings from 50 subjects — half with diabetes and half without — that were collected and grinded into powder. Researchers, led by Joris R. Delanghe, M.D., Ph.D., of the Department of Clinical Chemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology at Ghent University in Belgium, found “a striking difference” in the measurements between the two groups, according to the release.

The team measured glycation, a process whereby the protein in the nails bonded with sugar molecules.

“This finding suggests that nail clippings may serve as a reliable and non-invasive diagnostic tool,” Delanghe said.

Other benefits include little space needed for storage, and a room-temperature shelf life of one month, which could be useful in areas where labs are not always close by.

In 2014 diabetes affected an estimated 9 percent of adults worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated there are 21 million people in the U.S. diagnosed with diabetes, and another 8.1 million with the disease but who are undiagnosed.

The studies will be discussed during the Endocrinology in Preventive and Chronic Care session on July 28, and the Technology-Driven Patient Care session on July 29. The 2015 AACC Annual Meeting is hosted in Atlanta.