Skin autofluorescence promises noninvasive risk assessment for CHD
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
A table-top optical tissue monitor for measuring fluorescence patterns in the skin in a noninvasive fashion could provide doctors with a rapid new method of assessing high-risk heart disease (CHD) patients, a study has shown. The device, which was developed by Dutch firm DiagnOptics and was recently CE-marked for sale in Europe, assesses the accumulation in skin cells of a class of compounds known as advanced glycation end products (AGEs). AGEs, which result from glycation and oxidation of proteins, lipids or nucleic acids, are considered to play a pivotal role in the development of chronic complications of conditions such as diabetes, renal failure and atherosclerosis.