[HbAlc in diabetic subjects in progressive deterioration of the metabolic situation]

Five subjects with type I and type II diabetes mellitus under worsening diabetic control were studied and their HbAlc levels were monitored over three months. There was a strong rise of HbAlc paralleling plasma glucose, while serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels do not rise significantly. These findings confirm that the glycosylation of haemoglobin in vivo reflects the mean blood glucose levels over the previous few weeks and suggest that the trouble of lipid metabolism in diabetes is a slower and more indirect expression of the derangement in diabetic control than HbAlc.