Glucose content in human skin: relationship with blood glucose levels

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Abstract
In order to acertain the dynamic relationship between the extracellular glucose in upper skin layers and blood glucose, skin suction blisters were raised in six Type 1 diabetic patients during a three-step glucose clamp. Blister glucose closely paralleled venous glucose (mean of r = 0.998). However, in three patients blister glucose was constantly lower than plasma glucose and this appeared to be related to their slower formation of skin blisters. A substantial difference in skin blister suction time was noted among patients and it was found that suction time was linearly correlated to glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) (n = 6, r = 0.865, p = 0.026). It is concluded that a non-invasive blood glucose monitoring system could be successfully based on measurement of alterations in skin glucose contents.