Metabolon, Inc., has announced results from a study of its Quantose IGT test that were recently published in the Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology. The study provides data that support the clinical validity of the test for assessing impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), a state of prediabetes.
According to the American Diabetes Association, people with IGT have a relatively high risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Recognizing IGT is important in the prevention and management of these conditions.
According to company representatives, Quantose IGT is designed to easily identify IGT using a single, fasted blood draw. They stress that this test is a convenient surrogate for the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), the currently accepted clinical practice for measuring IGT. The OGTT can effectively measure IGT, but patients must fast prior to having the test, and after establishing a fasting glucose level by means of a blood draw, must then drink a glucose-rich beverage and undergo multiple blood draws over the course of about two hours. Because it is time-consuming and can cause patients to feel nauseated, sweaty, or lightheaded, the OGTT is unpopular with some primary care physicians and patients.
Metabolon's metabolomic profiling technology identified a number of metabolites whose fasting levels are associated with dysglycemia and type 2 diabetes. These metabolites are the basis of an alternative test for IGT. Metabolon developed Quantose IGT using fasting plasma samples taken just prior to an OGTT from 1,623 nondiabetic subjects from two different cohorts: 955 from the Relationship between Insulin Sensitivity and Cardiovascular Disease Study (RISC Study; 11.7% IGT) and 668 from the Diabetes Mellitus and Vascular Health Initiative (DMVhi) cohort from the DEXLIFE project (11.8% IGT).
Read the study abstract from the Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology
