C-peptide

C-Peptide from Serum

This test looks at the residual function of the pancreas. How much insulin is still being produced? In the pancreas, pro-insulin is converted into equal amounts of C-peptide and insulin. When insulin enters the blood, the same amount of C-peptide goes with it. In the laboratory, this amount of C-peptide is determined. you can also choose to determine the and insulin. The disadvantage may then be that any injected insulin is also measured. C-peptide is a substance that is completely naturally occurring in the body. This test is mainly used to determine whether someone, who has recently been diagnosed with diabetes, has type 1 or type 2 diabetes. If the fasting C-peptide is low, it fits with type and 1 diabetes. People with type and 2 diabetes usually have sufficient insulin (and thus C-peptides) in their blood, but their insulin sensitivity is (strongly) reduced.

The amount of the substance C-peptide in your blood may say something about your risk of hypo. English researchers discovered this by comparing people with type 1 diabetes who have a lot or a little C-peptide. This may (in the future) affect treatment.

The substance C-peptide is produced together with insulin. The amount of C-peptide in a person depends on the age at which that person became diabetic and the number of years of diabetes. About 10% of the people who were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at an adult age have a (relatively) high C-peptide value (> 0.2nmol/L).