Clinical significance and levels of blood brain natriuretic peptides in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation before and after catheter ablation.

The aim of this study was to observe levels of blood brain natriuretic peptides (BNPs) in patients with persistent atrial fibril-lation (AF) before and after catheter ablation. Thirty-six patients with persistent AF (28 successful surgeries and eight recurrent cases) and 36 healthy controls with normal sinus rhythm were recruited for this study. BNP levels in the AF and control groups were measured before and after catheter ablation. BNP levels before surgery were significantly higher in the persistent AF group than in the control group (P < 0.01). The successful surgery group had distinctly lower BNP levels before ablation than the recurrent group (P < 0.01). In the recurrent group, BNP levels 2 h after ablation were significantly lower than those be-fore ablation (P < 0.01); these levels increased after AF recurrence (P < 0.01) and were comparable with those before ablation (P < 0.01). Logistic regression analysis indicated that the BNP level was an inde-pendent factor for and predictor of AF recurrence (P < 0.01). The BNP level in patients with persistent AF is clinically important in predicting and evaluating AF recurrence after ablation.

Polymorphism of the OLR1 3'UTR potential microRNA binding site and risk of Alzheimer's disease: a meta-analysis.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that contributes to dementia in the elderly population. Genome-wide linkage analysis has identified chromosome 12p as the AD-susceptible region, which includes lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor 1 (OLR1). The OLR1 +1073 C/T single-nucleotide polymorphism is located in the 3'-untranslated region of the gene and may influence the binding of regulatory microRNAs (miRNAs) and OLR1 protein homeostasis. A number of studies have reported an association between this variant and AD. However, the results are controversial. A meta-analysis of case-control studies examining the relationship between the OLR1 +1073 C/T single-nucleotide polymorphism and AD risk was performed. Five studies were selected that included 2419 cases and 2381 controls. The results revealed a significantly decreased AD risk in the recessive model (TT vs TC + CC: odds ratio (OR) = 0.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.65-0.96). The control group in one of the studies was in Hardy-Weinberg disequilibrium, so we performed additional meta-analysis excluding this study. The significance was much more pronounced in the recessive model (TT vs TC + CC: OR = 0.72, 95%CI = 0.62-0.85). Using miRanda and RNA hybrid methods, the polymorphic allele was shown to influence the binding of various miRNAs. Our results suggested that the +1073 C/T polymorphism decreased the risk of AD. The polymorphic allele was also predicted to affect the binding site of many miRNAs, which may explain the relationship between the +1073 C/T variant and AD.