[Clinical significance of the determination of serum fructosamine and albumin in children with diabetes mellitus].

The paper is devoted to a study of the role of serum glycoprotein fructosamine and serum albumin in the pathogenesis of a severe course of insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) in children. Fructosamine was determined in 43 pediatric patients with IDDM by direct spectrophotometry using Hoffman-La-Roche kits; albumin, C-peptide and malonic aldehyde were also determined. Disorder of the mechanism of regulation of homeostasis by albumin was shown to play an important role in the pathogenesis of a severe course of IDDM in children. It could be caused by its enhanced glycosylation and a decrease in liver synthesis in some cases as a result of considerable reduction of insulin secretion. A prognostically unfavorable sign was a raised ratio of fructosamine to albumin and enhanced lipid peroxidation against a background of low insulin secretion. The determination of serum levels of fructosamine and albumin can be a valuable diagnostic criterion in examination of children with diabetes mellitus.