In a Greek diabetic population, skin autofluorescence is a non-invasive biomarker of advanced glycation end products and is related to metabolic parameters

Authors

  • Kyriakos Kazakos Department of Nursing, International Hellenic University,Thermi, Greece
  • Maria Tzilini International Hellenic University,Thermi, Greece
  • Dimitris Folinas Department of Supply Chain Management, International Hellenic University,Thermi, Greece
  • Maria Chatzidimitriou Department of Biomedical Sciences, International Hellenic University,Thermi, Greece
  • Vassills Papaliangas Department of Biomedical Sciences, International Hellenic University,Thermi, Greece

Keywords:

Diabetes mellitus (DM), Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), Skin autofluorescence (SAF), Empirical findings

Abstract

Objectives
This cross-sectional study aims to evaluate the association between advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) accumulation, assessed by skin autofluorescence (SAF) measured using the AGE Reader, and the prevalence of several metabolic variables in a diabetic population.
Methods
The measurement of SAF has become a non-invasive method of assessing the accumulation of AGEs as a marker of the long-term impact of glycemic and oxidative stress in humans. In contrast to blood glucose and to hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c), which reflect a short period of glucose levels, the AGE is a marker of the metabolic legacy effect and reflect a long period of glucose levels. AGEs play a pivotal role in the development and progression of diabetic complications. SAF has been validated as a simple, non-invasive method for assessment of AGEs accumulation in the body.
Results
In this study 100 diabetic patients were participated. We non-invasively measured SAF, in all the participants using the AGE Reader (DiagnOptics Technologies BV, Groningen, The Netherlands). We also measured the body mass index (BMI), the blood pressure and the patients underwent arterial duplex sonogram (Doppler examination) in the legs at the level of the ankle and calculated the ankle-branchial index (ABI), which is an important index for diagnosing peripheral artery disease, which is a severe complication of diabetes. The SAF was positive correlated with age, duration of diabetes and systolic blood pressure (BP) and was negative correlated with ABI.
Conclusion
The measurement of SAF has become a non-invasive and reliable method of assessing the accumulation of AGEs in humans. In contrast to blood glucose and to HbA1c, which reflect a short period of glucose levels, the AGEs reflect a long period of glucose levels, correlate with certain metabolic parameters and with peripheral artery disease.

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Published

2025-05-30

How to Cite

Kyriakos Kazakos, Maria Tzilini, Dimitris Folinas, Maria Chatzidimitriou, & Vassills Papaliangas. (2025). In a Greek diabetic population, skin autofluorescence is a non-invasive biomarker of advanced glycation end products and is related to metabolic parameters. Diabetes Research, 11(1), 12–15. Retrieved from http://openventio.us/index.php/DR/article/view/2278

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 1 (2025): Volume 11 Issue 1 2025

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Articles

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