Serum ischemia-modified albumin concentration may reflect long-term hypoxia in chronic respiratory disease: a pilot study

What is it about?

Hypoxia is assessed as a decrease in partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood. This indicator reflects at the time of blood withdrawal. Although sustained hypoxia is harmful, there are no current blood markers reflecting long-term presence of hypoxia. Ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) is produced irreversibly by the attack of reactive oxygen species on albumin during ischemia. Because the half-life of albumin is approximately 2-3 weeks, we hypothesized IMA could be an indicator of long-term hypoxia, in a similar manner to the relationship of serum glucose concentrations and glycated-albumin.

Featured Image