No abstract

Elevated circulating resistin was a significant independent predictor of CV and all-cause mortality in elderly, non-diabetic CKD patients.

Genetic polymorphisms in β1-, β2- and β3-adrenergic receptors (β-ARs) have been associated with chronic non-communicable disorders, such as cardiovascular diseases, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and obesity, as well as β-agonists and antagonists response and toxicity. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency distribution of ADRB1 genetic variants Ser49Gly and Arg389Gly, ADRB2 variants Gly16Arg and Gln27Glu, ADRB3 variant Trp64Arg in a Southeastern European Caucasian (SEC) population sample and to establish a comparison with existing data from other human populations. A sample of 431 men and 590 women volunteered to participate in this genotyping analysis after anonymization and de-identification. Real Time PCR (Melting Curve Analysis) followed DNA extraction from buccal swabs and statistical analysis of the results was performed. The allele frequencies in the SEC population were Ser49 (90.3%), Arg389 (69.49%), Gly16 (61.61%), Gln27 (65.72%), and Trp64 (94.52%), while a Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE) was detected in the population studied. Comparisons for the Ser49Gly, Gln27Glu, and Trp64Arg allele distributions demonstrated significant differences between SEC and the European group. European subgroups comparisons showed that allele distributions were similar for four of the five SNPs between SEC and Southwestern European Caucasians (SWC), while they were quite distinct from the Northwestern European Caucasians (NWC). These data underline the importance of interethnic variability of β-ARs genetic polymorphisms.

The role of vitamin D in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) has been studied over the past years. The results from numerous studies have indicated that the molecular pathways involved in the development of AD are closely related to the molecular pathways of the mechanisms of action of vitamin D. However, only a limited number of studies have described the key role of vitamin D receptor (VDR) in the regulation of the functions of vitamin D and the potential effect of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the VDR gene. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the VDR TaqI polymorphism in relation to AD in a Southeastern European Caucasian (SEC) cohort. Further, the present study aimed to compare the results obtained with those of other AD populations. For this purpose, blood samples from 90 confirmed patients with AD [median age, 74 years; median mini-mental state examination (MMSE) score of 21; median frontal assessment battery (FAB) score of 10] and 103 healthy controls (median age, 57 years) were analyzed to determine the genotypes of TaqI (rs731236) using quantitative PCR. The frequencies (%) of the TaqI TT, TC and CC genotypes in the controls/patients were 34/48.9, 47.6/41.1 and 18.4/10.0, respectively. Statistically significant differences were observed for the TaqI C allele [odds ratio (OR). 0.54; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.30-0.96; P= 0.035], the TaqI TT genotype (OR, 1.86; 95% CI, 1.04-3.32; P=0.035) and the TaqI CC genotype (OR, 0.119; 95% CI, 0.014-0.995; P=0.032,) in relation to the MMSE score <21 in the patient's group. The TaqI TT allele was found to increase the risk of developing AD by 1.86-fold in the SEC population, while the TaqI C allele may act protectively, with a 46% lower risk of developing the disease. Patients with the TaqI CC genotype were found to have an 88% less likelihood of developing severe cognitive impairment based on the MMSE score. On the whole, the present study did not confirm the results of previous studies on the VDR TaqI C allele in patients with AD.