Advanced glycation end product

[Smo]

Hello everybody, i would like to pour to anyone willing and capable to investigate the matter some food for thought.

Advanced Glycation End products (AGEs) are the result of a chain of chemical reactions after an initial glycation reaction.

Hyperglycemia results in higher cellular glucose levels in those cells unable to reduce glucose intake (e.g. endothelial cells).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_glycation_end_product#cite_note-brownlee-3 This in turn results in increased levels of NADH and FADH, increasing the proton gradient beyond a particular threshold at which the complex III prevents further increase by stopping the electron transport chain.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_glycation_end_product#cite_note-4 This results in mitochondrial production of reactive oxygen species, activating PARP1 by damaging dna. PARP1 in turn, ADP-ribosylates GAPDH, a protein involved in glucose metabolism, leading to its inactivation and an accumulation of metabolites earlier in the metabolism pathway. These metabolites activate multiple pathogenic mechanisms, one of which includes increased production of AGEs.

They have a range of pathological effects, including increasing vascular permeability, inhibition of vascular dilation by interfering with nitric oxide, oxdising LDL,[7] binding cells including macrophage, endothelial and mesangial cells to induce the secretion of a variety of cytokines and enhancing oxidative stress... ... diseases such as atherosclerosis, asthma, arthritis, myocardial infarction, nephropathy, retinopathy or neuropathy.

Source: Advanced glycation end product - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

From what i can understand, the molecules that starts this reaction are more complex than simple PG and VG. It looks like it's started by glucose and fructose. But i am no chemist, and i ask for help if anybody has any insight on this.

It's not like i am paranoid and i don't want to alarm anyone, but the more we know the more responsible will be our choices.

 

[Smo]

Noone cares about my first thread, you are a bunch of meanies T_T

Except MonkeyMonk, that did her homework (and a whole lot of them) and finally found something relevant, with reference to The American Journal of Pathology 170:1893, 2007:

The most meaningful infos that i can extrapolate from this, and that i was previously missing, are that we were getting AGEs also when we were smoking analogs, and thus that the level of this dangerous molecules can be raised trough inhalation. And we are definitely inhaling more sugar than before. A second point that i wasn't able to clarify was whether or not AGEs are dangerous only to diabetic persons, and well... It looks like they ain't good also for people with a body capable of properly handling sugars.

Full credit and appreciation to MonkeyMonk for finding out the two articles.

 

[MonkeyMonk]

Thanks Smo, here is a direct link to that specific journal article cited.
Reduced Oxidant Stress and Extended Lifespan in Mice Exposed to a Low Glycotoxin Diet: Association with Increased AGER1 Expression -- Cai et al. 170 (6): 1893 -- American Journal of Pathology

To see the pictures better, click on the yellow band above the pictures.

 

[vape4life]

The AGE's referenced in your original post are in reference to cellular metabolism. Basically with high free-radical-stress (like in Hyperglycemia, most notable from Diabetes) your body loses its normal ability to process sugars, and the build-up of sugars is a signal to your body that it is damaged. So it reacts... poorly... inflammation.

This is largely irrelevant to ecigs. Although nicotine does cause an increase in blood sugar, it almost assuredly is not at a pathogenic (disease causing) level, unless you are severely type II diabetic.

The second article posted is about AGE's produced in cooked food, as you stated. These are chemical reactions dependent on the presence of high-heat, sugar, and proteins in the food.

Atomizers do produce a high heat and therefore may catalyze chemical reactions, and some proteins may be present (from the tobacco leaf extract) but they are very low concentrations, compared to the examples in the article of experimental animals who were on meat diets.

What's my point? You have nothing to worry about. In terms of these AGE's at least.

 

[Smo]

Thanks for the insight. I think I've grasped the difference between the two different processes, and your post was kinda reassuring.

Although nicotine does cause an increase in blood sugar, it almost assuredly is not at a pathogenic (disease causing) level, unless you are severely type II diabetic.

Isn't PG a simple sugar by itself? I was more concerned of this than the fact of nicotine raising sugar level. Just curious at this point =)