Cutaneous Glow Test Could Help Detect Risk of Early Illness

WEDNESDAY, November 21, 2018 (HealthDay News) – A new test to measure the wavelength of light emitted by skin cells could detect type 2 diabetes, heart disease and even your risk of dying, according to HealthDay News. new research.

It is possible that one day, a light "autofluorescence" test on the skin will be used by consumers of "supermarkets, pharmacies or drugstores" as a first estimate of [health] risk, "according to a Dutch research team.

The new device is called AGE Reader, AGE for chemicals on skin cells called "advanced glycation end products".

AGEs are natural byproducts of the disease that can – using the reader's AGE Reader – shine or "fluoresce" on the skin, explained researchers led by Bruce Wolffenbuttel of the University of Groningen.

Their new study tested the device on the skin of nearly 73,000 people whose health status was then followed up to 10 years, with an average follow-up of four years.

During the follow-up period, more than 1,000 participants developed type 2 diabetes, nearly 1,300 developed heart disease and 928 died.

An increase of 1 unit of skin autofluorescence using the AGE reader "was associated with a threefold increase in the risk of type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease and a five-fold risk of death. times higher, "the researchers said on November 21 in the newspaper diabetology.

In addition, the device was able to predict death or illness, even in the absence of obvious risk factors, such as obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or a control insufficient blood sugar, revealed the study.

Even after adjusting for these risk factors, a 1-unit increase in the AGE Reader autofluorescence score was linked to a 26% increase in the risk of type 2 diabetes; a 33% increase in the risk of heart disease; and a death risk almost doubled during the follow-up period.

The bottom line is that the new findings support skin autofluorescence "as the first screening method to predict type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and mortality," the researchers said in a press release.

An American diabetes specialist has been intrigued by research.

Dr. Gerald Bernstein directs the Friedman Diabetes Treatment Program at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. He was not involved in the new study, but he is familiar with "AGE" chemicals as natural indicators of health.

"What is a good example of age that everyone can recognize?" Thanksgiving, we put a turkey in the oven in order to create a beautiful bird with beautiful brown skin. browning is due to the AGEs in the skin of the turkey, "said Bernstein. .

He explained that in living humans, these proteins "stick to each other and form a network, and this network is an AGE. The formation of AGE contributes to the complications of diabetes ".

As EFAs can gradually increase over time, doctors might one day "easily screen entire populations by the fluorescence technique to identify people who have EFAs and are therefore at risk," said Bernstein.

A heart specialist accepted. Dr. Guy Mintz described the study as "impressive" and stated that devices such as the AGE reader "could change the game in assessing cardiovascular and diabetic risk." He directs cardiovascular health at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York State.

Mintz said that studies where AGE Reader was being used on a patient's skin before and after medical treatments would be interesting "to see if the autofluorescence pattern of skin changes with medical interventions and habits of life."

However, Mintz had a reservation: "I do not agree with the author [notion] that this technology can be used in non-clinical settings, such as pharmacies, to assess patient risk. He said that non-doctors could easily misinterpret the test results and that patients could suffer.

More information

The American Diabetes Association offers more information on diabetes.