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| Myoinositol (MI) reflects plasma glucose levels after a meal or glucose load, and is excreted in urine. Lucica MI is a novel in vitro diagnostic test kit requiring a urine sample. Lucica MI is used to detect “prediabetes”, which cannot be ascertained by fasting plasma glucose (FPG) alone. |
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The dramatic increase in patients with diabetes has become a major social problem all over the world. According to reports by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the population of 135 million diabetics as of 1995 is expected to rise to 300 million by 2025. The most common complications of diabetes are microvascular disease (e.g., diabetic nephropathy, retinopathy, neuropathy) and macrovascular disease (e.g., arteriosclerosis, stroke and myocardial infarction). The ultimate goal of diabetes treatment is to prevent or limit the progression of these complications.
One of the most effective strategies is early detection during the so-called “prediabetes” stage. This permits early intervention with lifestyle changes, including dietary and exercise therapy.
According to the “Diabetes Treatment Guidelines” published by the Japan Diabetes Society, a basic requirement in preventing diabetes is performance of an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in persons with an FPG of 110-125 mg/dL or a hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) value of 5.5-6.0%. However, OGTT testing in all such cases is a major burden on both patients and healthcare professionals. |
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