Fluorescent Advanced Glycation End Products and Their Implications in Diabetes Mellitus

ABSTRACT Elevated blood glucose levels are a key contributor to clinical pathologies of diabetes. Prolonged hyperglycemia accelerates the Maillard reaction in tissues and results in the physiological production of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). AGEs promote biochemical pathways and tissue cross‐links that contribute to diabetic pathogenesis. In this paper, we review the chemical pathways that lead to the production of AGEs, the clinical diagnostic method of diabetes using fluorescent AGEs (fAGEs), and methodologies that may inhibit AGE formation. Further research in AGE detection and inhibition may lead to improvement in diabetic care.