Advanced glycation end-products in patients with chronic alcohol misuse.

Aims: The aim of our study was to determine serum levels of advanced glycation end-products (AGE) in patients with chronic alcohol misuse and to examine their relationship to markers of nutrition and inflammation.

Methods: The study group consisted of 23 heavy alcohol drinkers treated for chronic alcohol misuse and 22 healthy controls. Studied parameters included AGE (fluorescence, CML - carboxymethyllysine and pentosidine), lipids, glucose, albumin, leptin, prealbumin, C-reactive protein (CRP) and pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A).

Results: AGE fluorescence was significantly higher in chronic alcoholic patients than in healthy subjects (4.3 +/- 0.7 x 10(3) vs 3.7 +/- 0.5 x 10(3) AU/g protein, P < 0.005), while CML was only slightly but not significantly elevated (569.1 +/- 106.6 vs 545.5 +/- 85.8 microg/l) and pentosidine levels did not differ (105.4 +/- 29 vs 102.2 +/- 23 nmol/l). In alcoholics, AGE correlate significantly negatively with leptin (r = -0.46, P < 0.05) and pentosidine with prealbumin (r = -0.43, P < 0.05), otherwise there was no relationship between AGE and other biochemical parameters (glucose, cholesterol, albumin, CRP, PAPP-A).

Conclusion: Our findings suggest a more complex relationship among advanced glycation, oxidative stress and metabolism of ethanol and their link to nutrition and nutrition-associated parameters. AGE as a result of oxidative stress might be similarly linked to increased cardiovascular risk of heavy alcohol drinkers, as are malnutrition and inflammation; however, further studies are needed to confirm this hypothesis.