Diagnosing Diabetes with the A1C Test

New NIDDK A1C Test Fact Sheet Now Available

Check out The A1C Test and Diabetes, a new fact sheet from the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). The A1C test is a convenient test that offers important information about an individual’s long-term blood glucose control. The fact sheet addresses how to interpret results of the A1C test and also describes the accuracy of the test. The publication provides information that is particularly relevant in light of new recommendations to use the A1C test to diagnose type 2 diabetes and prediabetes. Blood tests, such as the A1C test, are especially important because at first, a person may have no symptoms of diabetes or prediabetes. Therefore, early diagnosis and treatment are important in preventing type 2 diabetes and its complications.

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Research May Lead to Diabetes Drugs with Fewer Side Effects

In an effort to cultivate a new generation of diabetes drugs with fewer side effects, NIDDK-funded scientists developed compounds that successfully reduced glucose levels and increased insulin sensitivity in mice. The research was based in part on the effective mechanisms at work in thiazolidinediones such as Avandia and Actos, which have helped patients achieve lower blood glucose levels, but which in recent years have also come to be known for dangerous side effects such as fluid retention, bone loss, weight gain, bladder cancer, and congestive heart failure.

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New Publications

• Causes of Diabetes
• Hypoglycemia (Spanish)
• Diabetic Neuropathies: The Nerve Damage of Diabetes (Spanish)
• Sexual and Urologic Problems of Diabetes (Spanish)