title: Skin autofluorescence, a non-invasive marker of advanced glycation end products: clinical relevance and limitations.
abstract: Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are protein-bound compounds derived from glycaemic and oxidative stress that contain fluorescent properties, which can be non-invasively measured as skin autofluorescence (SAF) by the AGE Reader. SAF has been demonstrated to be a biomarker of cumulative skin AGEs and potentially may be a better predictor for the development of chronic complications and mortality in diabetes than glycated haemoglobin A1c. However, there are several confounding factors that should be assessed prior to its broader application: these include presence of other fluorescent compounds in the skin that might be measured (eg, fluorophores), skin pigmentation and use of skin creams. The aim of this article is to provide a theoretical background of this newly developed method, evaluate its clinical relevance and discuss the potential confounding factors that need further analysis.
authors.affiliation: The Leicester Diabetes Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: Cidila
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Da Moura Semedo
authors.affiliation: The Leicester Diabetes Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester, UK.|NIHR Leicester-Loughborough Diet, Lifestyle and Physical Activity Biomedical Research Unit, University Hospitals of Leicester, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: M'Balu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Webb
authors.affiliation: Diabetes Research Centre, University of Leicester, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Waller
authors.affiliation: The Leicester Diabetes Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester, UK.|NIHR Leicester-Loughborough Diet, Lifestyle and Physical Activity Biomedical Research Unit, University Hospitals of Leicester, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester, UK.|Diabetes Research Centre, University of Leicester, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: Kamlesh
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Khunti
authors.affiliation: The Leicester Diabetes Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester, UK.|NIHR Leicester-Loughborough Diet, Lifestyle and Physical Activity Biomedical Research Unit, University Hospitals of Leicester, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester, UK.|Diabetes Research Centre, University of Leicester, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Davies
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism*; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000378:metabolism*; D017127:Glycation End Products, Advanced / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D061848:Optical Imaging; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012867:Skin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D017127:Glycation End Products, Advanced
keywords: AGE-Reader; Advanced glycation end products; cardiovascular risk; confounding factors; diabetes; skin autofluorescence