Noninvasive Skin Test May Aid in Cushing Diagnosis
23 May 2023 • Tissue accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) is associated with the presence of hypercortisolism, suggesting a potential future noninvasive method to assist in the diagnosis of Cushing syndrome, new research suggests. The findings were presented at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology Annual Meeting 2023.
Tissue accumulation of AGEs — harmful compounds formed by glycation of macromolecules — has been implicated in aging, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Now, in a new single-center prospective study, a group of 208 patients with endogenous hypercortisolism was found to have significantly higher median tissue AGE levels than 103 reference subjects without hypercortisolism.
"Diagnosis of endogenous hypercortisolism can be quite challenging. Often patients can have nonspecific symptoms with biochemical testing being equivocal. In these situations, new biomarkers of hypercortisolism such as AGE measurement could potentially be useful," lead researcher Dr. Rashi Sandooja claims. "After proper validation, it could help clinicians in cases which may not be straightforward and could serve as an additional instrument in the toolkit to reach a conclusive diagnosis, she added.
Source: Medscape | Read full story