Serum prealbumin is also a glycoprotein synthesized by the liver and is called prealbumin because it runs ahead of albumin during protein electrophoresis. Unlike albumin, which has a half-life of about 21 days, prealbumin has less than 2 days. It is because of its very short half-life that it reflects more effectively the recent nutritional status of the whole body. When a person’s liver cells become dysfunctional and cannot synthesize albumin, pre-albumin is very responsive and can drop very quickly, but albumin may still be normal. In addition, in patients with cirrhosis and liver failure, the albumin level in the blood may increase after the drip of albumin, but the pre-albumin level is still very low, suggesting that the liver’s ability to synthesize is still very poor, so pre-albumin is a more accurate reflection of the recent liver synthesis than albumin.