Samuel Rahbar, MD (May 12, 1929-November 10, 2012)
Alan D. Rogol MD, Ph.D
Samuel Rahman was an Iranian trained physician/scientist who noted a fast moving hemoglobin component on electrophoresis in subjects with diabetes (Clin Chim Acta 1968; 22:296). As a visiting scientist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1968-1969, he worked in the laboratory of Dr. Helen Ranney and noted that this unusual form of hemoglobin, likely containing an amino sugar, was physiological but in lesser quantities in non-diabetic individuals (4-6 % of total hemoglobin) than in those with diabetes (7.5-10.6 %) (Biochem Biophys Acta 1969; 36:838). It is the first example of in vivo glycosylation of proteins and led to the concept of advanced glycation end products (AGEs).