Advanced glycation end products in patients with cerebral infarction.

OBJECTIVE: Oxidative modification of carbohydrates and lipids enhances the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which are formed not only in hyperglycemia, but also in normoglycemia. In this study, we determined skin AGEs in patients with cerebral infarction.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: We non-invasively measured skin autofluorescence (AF) levels in patients with chronic cerebral infarction (CCI; n=95), patients with silent brain infarction (SBI; n=40), and age-matched controls (n=34), using an AGE Reader.

RESULTS: Skin AF levels in patients with CCI and SBI were significantly increased compared with those in the control group (2.06+/-0.38, 2.16+/-0.47 and 1.84+/-0.35, respectively). Angiotension receptor blocker (ARB) or statins had no significant effect on the level of advanced glycation in any of the groups.

CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that increased formation of AGEs may be an indicator of oxidative stress, not only in diabetes and renal failure, but also in chronic cerebral ischemia.