The Association between Age-Related Macular Degeneration and the Risk of Mortality

MicroRNA-135b alleviates MPP+-mediated Parkinson's disease in in vitro model through suppressing FoxO1-induced NLRP3 inflammasome and pyroptosis

The present study focused on the novel roles and the underlying mechanisms of miR-135b in pyroptosis of MPP⁺-induced Parkinson's disease (PD). We established an in vitro PD model induced by MPP⁺. Our results demonstrated miR-135b was lower while FoxO1 was inversely higher in MPP⁺-treated SH-SY5Y and PC-12 cells. Luciferase reporter assay showed FoxO1 was a downstream target of miR-135b. MiR-135b mimics suppressed MPP⁺-induced pyroptosis and the upregulation of TXNIP, NLRP3, Caspase-1, ASC, GSDMD^Nterm and IL-1β. Moreover, FoxO1 overexpression had no effect on miR-135b but reversed its own downregulation caused by miR-135b mimics. Meanwhile, overexpression of FoxO1 abolished the inhibitory effects of miR-135b on pyroptosis and reversed the downregulation of pyroptotic genes and LDH release. In summary, miR-135b played a protective role in Parkinson's disease via inhibiting pyroptosis by targeting FoxO1. MiR-135b might serve as a potential therapeutic target in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

INCREASED INCIDENCE OF CUTANEOUS KERATINOCYTIC AND MELANOCYTIC MALIGNANCIES IN PATIENTS WITH AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION

PURPOSE

The relationship between age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and malignancy, especially cutaneous malignancies, is not well studied. We investigated a possible association between AMD and cutaneous malignancies.

METHODS

A retrospective, consecutive review of all patients who had received at least 1 intravitreal injection for wet AMD between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2013, was conducted using the Rochester Epidemiology Project in Olmsted County, Minnesota. Age- and sex-matched control groups included 473 pre-anti-vascular endothelial growth factor era wet AMD patients, 504 concurrent time dry AMD patients, and 504 patients with no AMD. The rates of AMD and overall malignancy, cutaneous malignancies, and specific types of cutaneous malignancies were compared between groups of patients.

RESULTS

Patients with wet AMD incurred an increased rate of overall malignancies compared to patients with dry AMD {52.8% wet AMD (confidence interval [CI]: 48.3-57.2) vs. 43.7% dry AMD (CI: 39.3-48.1); P= 0.003} or those without AMD (52.8% wet AMD [CI: 48.3-57.2] vs. 35.3% no AMD [CI: 31.1-39.7]; P = <0.001). Patients with dry AMD also had higher rates of malignancy than those without AMD (43.7% dry AMD [CI: 39.3-48.1] vs. 35.3% no AMD [CI: 31.1-39.7]; P = 0.007). Rate of cutaneous malignancies was increased in patients with wet AMD compared to patients with dry AMD (24.4% wet AMD [CI: 20.7-28.4] vs. 14.6% dry AMD [CI: 11.5-17.9]; P = <0.001) and those with no AMD (24.4% wet AMD [CI: 20.7-28.4] vs. 9.7% no AMD [CI: 7.3-12.7]; P = <0.001).

CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to establish an association between AMD and cutaneous malignancies, supporting a possible discussion of the association when a patient presents with one of the two conditions.

Legume Consumption and All-Cause and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality

Background

Legume consumption is suggested to have protective effects against cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in the general population, but the results have been equivocal. We conducted a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies to assess the association between legume consumption and risk of CVD mortality and all-cause mortality.

Methods and Results

Medline (via Ovid) and EMBASE (via Ovid) databases were searched through April 2017 to identify eligible studies. The two authors independently extracted the data and the adjusted relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled by using a random-effects model. A total of 6 studies were identified, including the sizes of participants ranging from 23,601 to 59,485 with a sum of 21,8997. Comparing the highest category with the lowest, the pooled RR (95% CI) was 0.96 (0.86–1.06) for CVD mortality and 0.93 (0.87–0.99) for all-cause mortality.

Conclusions

Results from the current study show that high legume intakes are associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality. In consideration of the small number of studies, the evidence for assessing relationship between legumes intake and risk of all-cause mortality remains inclusive and warrants further study in the future. Further, consuming legumes does not increase the risk of CVD mortality.