Insulin

Overview:

Insulin is released by the pancreas to move glucose out of the bloodstream and into cells. When cells respond less readily to it, the pancreas compensates by producing more, and that raised insulin can persist for years while fasting glucose still reads normal. Measuring fasting insulin can therefore show the compensation before glucose changes. It is also used when investigating unexplained low blood sugar, where the question is whether insulin is inappropriately high. Insulin results depend heavily on the glucose at the same moment, so the two are interpreted together rather than separately.

Categories:

Metabolic, Diabetes, Hormone

Biomarkers:

1 biomarker