IMMUNOLOGICAL QUANTIFICATION OF ADVANCED GLYCOSYLATION END-PRODUCTS IN THE SERUM OF PATIENTS ON HEMODIALYSIS OR CAPD

We have developed an immunological procedure for measuring advanced gl ycosylation end-products (AGEs) in serum. Using this method, we measur ed AGEs in healthy volunteers, patients with diabetes, renal failure w ithout treatment and in patients with renal failure, treated with hemo dialysis (HD) or continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). We found that AGEs were moderately elevated in diabetics without renal fa ilure and highly elevated in CAPD and HD patients irrespective of thei r glycemic status. AGE levels correlated significantly with creatinine levels but not with levels of glucose or patient age or sex. AGE leve ls were reduced significantly post-hemodialysis. Preliminary experimen ts have shown that circulating AGEs have a molecular weight of approxi mately 1.5 to 2.0 kDa. More studies are needed to establish if AGE mea surements in serum are prognostic indicators of the complications of e ither diabetes or renal failure.