Advanced glycoxidation end products in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Advanced glycoxidation end products (AGEs) play an important role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerations and we studied if AGEs could represent a useful marker in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). AGE-products were assessed in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum of 31 patients with MS and 8 controls. We did not find any statistically significant differences in patients with MS and controls either in CSF or in serum. We have observed a significant association between pentosidine and total AGEs as well as a relationship of both to the protein content in CSF in MS patients. Despite of the involvement of both oxidative stress and RAGE (receptor for AGEs) in the pathogenesis of MS and its experimental model, neither pentosidine nor total AGE were shown as useful markers in this indication. Other compounds and ligands of RAGE are probably of higher significance in MS.