Clinical review: The role of advanced glycation end products in progression and complications of diabetes.

Abstract

Diabetic complications appear to be multifactorial in origin, but in particular, the biochemical process of advanced glycation, which is accelerated in diabetes as a result of chronic hyperglycemia and increased oxidative stress, has been postulated to play a central role in these disorders. Advanced glycation involves the generation of a heterogenous group of chemical moieties known as advanced glycated end products (AGEs), this reaction occurring as a result of a nonenzymatic reaction with glucose interacting with proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids, and involves key intermediates such as methylglyoxal.