ABSTRACT
Advanced glycation end-products [AGEs] came up with the recent researches regarding new biomarkers for the diagnosis of heart failure. AGEs are the end products of non-enzymatic glycation and oxidation of proteins, lipids and nucleotides during Maillard biochemical reaction. Although it has been known that AGEs have a role in the pathogenesis of chronic heart failure [CHF], information regarding its role and its pathogenetic mechanism is very limited. The aim of this study was to find any relationship between AGEs with the etiology and severity of chronic heart failure. This study is a prospective cross sectional study that enrolled 85 patients with chronic heart failure. Measurement of left ventricle ejection fraction [LVEF] was done by echocardiography. Blood samples were collected for measuring AGEs just before or after echocardiography assessment [in the same session]. Measurement of AGEs was done by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA] method. The relationship between AGEs with the severity of CHF and as well as the etiology of CHF were evaluated via SPSS-15. Of 85 patients 48 [56.5%] patients were male and 37 [43.5%] were female; Mean +/- SD of their ages was 55.8 +/- 13.4 years old [ranges from 27 to 84 years]. Correlation coefficient between LVEF and AGEs was 0.269 [P = 0.013]. Mean of AGEs in patients with and without ischemic etiology of their heart failure were 16.8 +/- 9.8 microg/ml and 11.6 +/- 7.3 microg/ml, respectively. Although trend was in favor of ischemic heart failure, the difference between two groups was not statistically significant [P = 0.141]. According to this study the rate of AGES could be helpful in the diagnosis and assessment of severity of CHF. Based on our findings, higher blood levels of AGEs in the ischemic CHF cases, also it could be concluded that in the future this marker may be used for etiologic differentiation of heart failure syndrome