Brownlee M
Diabetes Research Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461, USA.
Annu Rev Med. 1995;46:223-34. doi: 10.1146/annurev.med.46.1.223.
Products of advanced protein glycosylation (advanced glycation end products, or AGEs) accumulate in tissues as a function of time and sugar concentration. AGEs induce permanent abnormalities in extracellular matrix component function, stimulate cytokine and reactive oxygen species production through AGE-specific receptors, and modify intracellular proteins. Pharmacologic inhibition of AGE formation in long-term diabetic animals prevents diabetic retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy, and arterial abnormalities in animal models. Clinical trials in humans are currently in progress.
