SKIN COLLAGEN PENTOSIDINE AND FLUORESCENCE IN DIABETES ARE PREDICTORS OF CREATININEMIA INCREASE AND RETINOPATHY PROGRESSION ALREADY 6 YEARS AFTER PUNCH-BIOPSY

We measured pentosidine and fluorescence at 370/440nm in collagen extracted from skin punch-biopsies in 30 patients with diabetes (14 type 1 diabetes and 16 type 2 diabetes) without renal insufficiency, and in age- and gender-matched normoglycemic controls, followed at Hotel-Dieu in Paris. At the time of biopsy, marked increases in pentosidine and fluorescence levels, expressed per collagen hydroxyproline, were found in the patients with diabetes versus normoglcemic controls. Pentosidine and fluorescence were correlated with diabetes duration. Fluorescence was significantly dependent on retinopathy presence and score in type-1 and type-2 diabetes. Fluorescence was correlated with microalbuminuria, only in type-1 diabetes. Already six years after biopsy, retinopathy score progression and creatininemia increase were significantly correlated with initial pentosidine and fluorescence levels.