Fructosamine

Fructosamines are compounds that result from glycation reactions between a sugar (such as fructose or glucose) and a primary amine, followed by isomerization via the Amadori rearrangement. Biologically, fructosamines are recognized by fructosamine-3-kinase, which may trigger the degradation of advanced glycation end-products (though the true clinical significance of this pathway is unclear). Fructosamine can also refer to the specific compound 1-amino-1-deoxy-D-fructose (isoglucosamine), first synthesized by Nobel laureate Hermann Emil Fischer in 1886.

Most commonly, fructosamine refers to a laboratory test for diabetes management that is rarely used in clinical practice (simple blood glucose monitoring or hemoglobin A1c testing are preferred). Many direct-to-consumer lab testing companies sell fructosamine tests, but these are unnecessary and of limited clinical value.

In diabetes, maintaining a normal blood glucose is essential to preventing many medical complications, including heart attacks, diabetic nephropathy, diabetic neuropathy and also diabetic retinopathy eventually leading to blindness. Most commonly, blood sugars are measured by either blood glucose monitoring which measures the current blood glucose level, or by Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) which measures average glucose levels over approximately 3 months.