Frequently Asked Questions

What tests monitor short-term glycemia?
You are probably familiar with hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and fructosamine, both of which are used to assess whether diet has effectively controlled blood sugar in both type 1 and type 2 diabetics. Each monitors a different time frame of glycemia: fructosamine reflects the previous two to three weeks and HbA1c monitors a two to three month time frame.

GlycoMark® has been used for over 15 years in Japan to monitor short-term glycemic control. Its major advantage over both fructosamine and HbA1c is that it measures blood glucose over a short one to two week moving time frame. So patients who want to know whether their diet adjustments are resulting in lower blood glucose will know it much sooner, gaining both confidence they’re on the right track and the accurate information needed to make additional adjustments.

Why should patients be concerned about post-meal glucose levels?
The effect of post-meal (post-prandial) high blood glucose (hyperglycemia) on the heart and other organs is a hot topic for research. Many researchers believe that the number, frequency and duration of glucose spikes after eating has a significant and detrimental affect that can lead to cardiovascular disease, retinopathy (blindness) and neuropathy (nerve damage). Physicians are becoming increasingly diligent in monitoring the post-meal glucose levels in their diabetic patients in order to determine if diet and exercise modifications or the use of anti-hyperglycemic drugs is warranted.

What is hyperglycemia?
Hyperglycemia occurs when blood glucose levels reach the renal threshold described above. On average, this is a blood glucose level of about 180 mg/dL; however, this threshold may differ in patients who are aged, pregnant or have impaired renal function.

Hypoglycemia, on the other hand, occurs when blood glucose drops below the threshold, sometimes even below normal blood glucose levels. In an insulin overdose a patient may experience hypoglycemia and blood glucose must be rapidly restored.

If post-meal hyperglycemia is linked to cardiovascular and other diseases, it is extremely beneficial to people with diabetes to know how well they’re controlling their glucose levels. Is their diet effective? Should they exercise more often or change their routines? For physicians, it means they can offer more informed advice and can consider whether their patient is a candidate for one of the anti-hyperglycemia drugs.

How does GlycoMark uniquely monitor post-meal hyperglycemia?
Due to its unique physiology, 1,5-AG decreases in the blood as glucose increases. This decrease begins as blood glucose increases over the renal threshold (180 mg/dL). The change is dramatic and significant from the normal range of over 10 µg/ml to a low of less than 2 µg/ml. In the diagnostic ranges, the amount of 1,5-AG directly correlates with blood glucose. This effect can be seen in as little as 24 to 48 hours after a post-meal glucose spike; however, due to 1,5-AG’s constant recovery rate, GlycoMark exclusively tests all of the hyperglycemia that has occurred over the last one to two weeks. Fructosamine and HbA1c do not monitor hyperglycemia alone, but average both hyper- and hypoglycemia over two to three weeks and two to three months, respectively.

Is there a key reference on GlycoMark and post-meal hyperglycemia?
The cornerstone journal article by Dungan et al on GlycoMark and post-prandial hyperglycemia details a study of the ability of GlycoMark to monitor post-meal hyperglycemia. It describes an example of two patients who, due to their near normal HbA1c, were thought to be in proper meal control. But GlycoMark demonstrated that one of them was not in control, despite an apparently near normal HbA1c value.

How can GlycoMark monitor anti-hyperglycemia therapy?
Doctors have treated hyperglycemia with a new class of drugs designed to bring post-meal glucose into control. Studies to determine the efficacy of these drugs used the diabetes tests, including GlycoMark, fructosamine and HbA1c. The results showed that whereas after months of therapy fructosamine and HbA1c, for some drugs, did show slight improvement as hyperglycemia came under control, GlycoMark was the only marker that showed significant improvement to normal values in all the drug studies. This means that GlycoMark can be used as an effective way to monitor drug therapy and could provide a rapid way for a physician to assess whether adjustments to the treatment regimen is warranted.

Is GlycoMark useful in patients with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes?
Yes. Medical research has shown it works equally well with both type 1 and type 2.

Are there conditions that affect GlycoMark?
GlycoMark values may be affected by conditions that alter the renal threshold, such a pregnancy and age; however, your physician should obtain a baseline value in order to interpret ongoing results. GlycoMark cannot be used in patients with impaired renal function, dialysis, cirrhosis, or inability to orally ingest food.

Are there current studies involving GlycoMark?
Since 2006, when its ability to monitor post-meal hyperglycemia was first published, GlycoMark has achieved widespread acceptance in the medical community for both short-term control and post-prandial hyperglycemia. Several international studies are underway to assess whether GlycoMark can be used to diagnose diabetes and whether it can directly assess cardiovascular complications. In addition, it’s currently being studied in children and as a tool to monitor treatment results for several other anti-hyperglycemic drugs in development.

Is GlycoMark medically accepted?
GlycoMark is listed as 1,5-anhydroglucitol testing in the International Diabetes Federation Diabetes Management Guidelines. The recognition and acceptance of this new diabetes blood test is growing rapidly in the world. The American Diabetes Association sponsored a symposium on 1,5-AG at its annual meeting in 2008.

How can I get a GlycoMark test?
Currently, GlycoMark is available at major laboratories in the United States (LabCorp, Quest, The Mayo Clinic) and each week other regional lab or medical center laboratories are setting GlycoMark up on their chemistry analyzers.

Please ask your doctor about GlycoMark and mention this web site. A full range of materials is available through the other sections of this site and we invite both you and your doctors to utilize this information fully. Should you or your physician have any questions regarding GlycoMark, we can be contacted at 336-725-8181.

Is GlycoMark reimbursed?
GlycoMark is reimbursed by Medicare and by private insurers.