[The Maillard reaction: physiopathological role and pharmacological approach].

In this review, we shall first present a short summary of Maillard's carrier, his pioneering work for the introduction of chemistry in medicine and a short description of the reaction he described in 1912 between reducing sugars and amino groups on proteins, part of his PhD thesis. This reaction was rediscovered several decades later by biochemists. Nowadays an increasing number of teams specialise in the study of the Maillard reaction, because of its importance in aging and age-related pathologies. After a short description of this reaction, we report the importance of receptors recognising a variety of AGE-s and mediating their effect on cells and tissues. The importance of glycoxidation is mentioned, mediating the release of free radicals (ROS-s) directly involved in a number of noxious effects of AGE-s, such as crosslinking and even mutagenesis. All these - in his time - unforeseen consequences of this reaction have made Maillard the best known French scientist in international scientific circles.