Did You Know C-peptide is a Better Measure of Insulin Production Than Insulin?
🩸 Researchers believe c-peptide is the most suitable measurement for assessing endogenous insulin secretion.
🩸 Here’s why you should be testing c-peptide instead of insulin.
🩸 Pancreatic beta cells secrete proinsulin, an immature version of insulin comprised of an alpha-chain, a beta-chain, and a c-peptide connector.
🩸 C-peptide is removed and the alpha and beta chains become linked and turn into insulin.
🩸 Although c-peptide is released at the same time and in the same quantity as insulin, it has a substantially longer half-life (20-30 minutes vs. 3-5 minutes).
🩸 Therefore c-peptide remains in the blood approximately 5 times longer than insulin and is roughly 5 times more concentrated.
🩸 LabSmarts supports the c-peptide blood marker and plots the value on a reference-range, color-coded bar graph with an optimal range backed by multiple studies.
🩸 Go to https://labsmarts.com to sign up for your FREE LabSmarts account!
References:
(1) Palmer JP, Fleming GA, Greenbaum CJ, et al. C-Peptide Is the Appropriate Outcome Measure for Type 1 Diabetes Clinical Trials to Preserve β-Cell Function: Report of an ADA Workshop, 21–22 October 2001. Diabetes. 2004;53(1):250-264. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.
(2) The C-Peptide Test – The Most Important Blood Test for Diabetes. Mastering Diabetes. Published August 5, 2019. https://www.masteringdiabetes.org/c-peptide-diabetes-test
