title: Advanced glycation end products and diabetic retinopathy.
abstract: Studies have established hyperglycemia as the most important factor in the progress of vascular complications. Formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) correlates with glycemic control. The AGE hypothesis proposes that hyperglycemia contributes to the pathogenesis of diabetic complications including retinopathy. However, their role in diabetic retinopathy remains largely unknown. This review discusses the chemistry of AGEs formation and their patho-biochemistry particularly in relation to diabetic retinopathy. AGEs exert deleterious effects by acting directly to induce cross-linking of long-lived proteins to promote vascular stiffness, altering vascular structure and function and interacting with receptor for AGE, to induce intracellular signaling leading to enhanced oxidative stress and elaboration of key proinflammatory and prosclerotic cytokines. Novel anti-AGE strategies are being developed hoping that in next few years, some of these promising therapies will be successfully evaluated in clinical context aiming to reduce the major economical and medical burden caused by diabetic retinopathy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, King George Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh India.
authors.forename: Yashodhara
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, King George Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh India.
authors.forename: Sandeep
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saxena
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, King George Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh India.
authors.forename: Arvind
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mishra
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh India.
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saxena
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, King George Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh India.
authors.forename: Shankar Madhav
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Natu
keywords: Advanced glycation end products (AGEs); Diabetes mellitus; Hyperglycemia; Microvascular disease; Retinopathy