Practical Biochemistry: Number of Experiment: (1) Name of Exp.:-Blood Glucose Test
Practical Biochemistry: Number of Experiment: (1) Name of Exp.:-Blood Glucose Test
Practical Biochemistry: Number of Experiment: (1) Name of Exp.:-Blood Glucose Test
Faculty of Medicine
Practical Biochemistry
Number of experiment: ( 1 )
By
Assistant Prof. Dr.
Hayder H. Abed
Glucose, an important source of energy for the body, comes from food.
Carbohydrates are the main dietary source of glucose. Rice, potatoes, bread,
tortillas, cereal, milk, fruit, and sweets are all carbohydrate-rich foods.
After a meal, glucose is absorbed into the bloodstream and carried to the body's
cells. Insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas, helps the cells use glucose for
energy. If a person takes in more glucose than the body needs at the time, the body
stores the extra glucose in the liver and muscles in a form called glycogen. The
body can use glycogen for energy between meals. Extra glucose can also be
changed to fat and stored in fat cells. Fat can also be used for energy. When
blood glucose begins to fall, glucagon—another hormone made by the pancreas—
signals the liver to break down glycogen and release glucose into the bloodstream.
Blood glucose will then rise toward a normal level. In some people with diabetes,
this glucagon response to hypoglycemia is impaired and other hormones such as
epinephrine, also called adrenaline, may raise the blood glucose level. But with
diabetes treated with insulin or pills that increase insulin production, glucose levels
can't easily return to the normal range.
I. Hypoglycemia
When the blood glucose concentration falls to less than 45 mg/dl, the symptoms
of hypoglycemia appear. The manifestations include headache, anxiety, confusion,
sweating, slurred speech, seizures and coma, and, if not corrected, death. All these
symptoms are directly and indirectly related to the deprivation of glucose
supply to the central nervous system (particularly the brain) due to a fall in blood
glucose level.
Hyperglycemia is the technical term for high blood glucose (sugar). High blood
glucose happens when the body has too little insulin or when the body can't use
insulin properly. This is generally a blood glucose level of mg/dl, but symptoms
may not start to become noticeable until later numbers such as 270-360 mg/dl or
more . However, chronic levels exceeding 125 mg/dl can produce organ damage.
1- Fasting glucose test (fasting blood glucose, FBG) – this test measures the
level of glucose in the blood after fasting for at least 8 hours.
2- Random blood sugar test. A blood sample will be taken at a random time.
A random blood sugar level of 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) — 11.1
millimoles per liter (mmol/L) — or higher suggests diabetes
3- Glucose tolerance test (G.T.T.) – for this test, the person has a fasting
glucose test done then drinks a 75-gram glucose drink. Another blood
sample is drawn 2 hours after the glucose drink. This protocol "challenges"
the person's body to process the glucose. Normally, the blood glucose level
rises after the drink and stimulates the pancreas to release insulin into the
bloodstream. Insulin allows the glucose to be taken up by cells. As time
passes, the blood glucose level is expected to decrease again. When a person
is unable to produce enough insulin, or if the body's cells are resistant to its
Hayder H. Abed Page 5
effects (insulin resistance), then less glucose is transported from the blood
into cells and the blood glucose level remains high.
4- Glycated hemoglobin (A1C) test. This blood test, which doesn't require
fasting, indicates average blood sugar level for the past two to three months.
It measures the percentage of blood sugar attached to hemoglobin. The
higher blood sugar levels, the more hemoglobin with sugar attached. An
A1C level of 6.5 percent or higher on two separate tests indicates diabetes.
An A1C between 5.7 and 6.4 percent indicates prediabetes. Below 5.7 is
considered normal.