Mr_Pot
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- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
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- Diet only
The hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp test is often referred to as the gold standard for insulin resistance testing. It is not practical to use this test apart from in research as it is too complex and invasive. It's advantage is that it is a dynamic test that measures the ability to disperse glucose as levels are increased. The fasting insulin test is a static test that shows the balance between insulin and gluconeogenesis by the liver, it is an indication but not a measure of overall insulin resistance and varies with ethnicity and gender. Professor Mathews stated that HOMA-IR index, derived from fasting insulin, should only be used to compare populations not individuals. So a reluctance to use fasting insulin as a standard test is probably due to the difficulty in interpreting the results.I believe it is similar to the C=Peptide test and needs a specialist lab to measure it, I know C-Peptide can be done in UK, but the fasting Insulin seems to be only available privately. Think NHS will cover C-Peptide but it is not a common test now.
There is also a technique called an insulin clamp test, again used mainly in a lab, that can give a rough idea, and it is commonly used during research experiments, not in vivo.
Previously discussed in
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/fasting-insulin-tests-nhs-says-no.147742/