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Hemoglobin variant HbE found in two South Asian diabetic patients

Daisuke Takarabe1, Miyako Kishimoto, Takahisa Tanaka

  • 1Department of Diabetes and Metabolic Medicine, International Medical Center of Japan, Toyama Hospital, Tokyo.

Internal Medicine (Tokyo, Japan)
|August 19, 2009
PubMed

Glycohemoglobin, also known as hemoglobin (Hb) A(1c), is a marker of long-term glycemic control in patients with diabetes. We present two South-Asian diabetic patients whose HbA(1c) peaks were not measurable using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Further investigations showed that these patients were homozygous for a hemoglobin variant, HbE (beta26 Glu-->Lys). Because of the increasing numbers of immigrants in Japan, area-specific hemoglobinopathies are now encountered more frequently than before. Thus, if discrepant results are found on an HbA(1c) assay or if the HbA(1c) value cannot be measured, such patients should be screened for hemoglobinopathies and alternative measurements for monitoring diabetes should be considered.

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