Obesity is usually considered to predispose to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) but milder degrees of obesity or overweight may be protective in some elderly populations. We examined the relationships between general and abdominal obesity indices with ASCVD and its risk factors in elderly (aged ≥65 years) Shanghai community residents Among the 3950 participants, 21.5% had ASCVD, 56.2% had body mass index (BMI) ≥24 kg/m2, 50.1% had high waist circumference (WC) and 77.1% had waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) ≥0.50. WHtR increased with age in both men and women whereas WC increased with age only in women and BMI decreased with age only in men. The optimal WHtR cut-off value to predict the risk of ASCVD determined by receiver operating characteristic analysis was WHtR ≥0.53 with a prevalence of 55.8%. Having abdominal obesity was significantly associated with prevalent ASCVD with WHtR ≥0.53 having a higher value for the odds ratio than high WC, whereas high BMI was not associated. All three indices predicted high glucose, triglycerides and hsCRP levels but only the WHtR ≥0.53 showed a significant association with physical activity. Abdominal obesity indices, but not BMI, predicted prevalent ASCVD and its risk factors in this elderly Chinese population.

Liver X receptor-␣ (LXR␣) and its target sterol regulatory elementbinding protein-1c (SREBP-1c) play key roles in hepatic lipogenesis. Rimonabant, an inverse agonist of cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1), has been studied as an antiobesity drug. In view of the link between CB1 and energy metabolism, this study investigated the effect of rimonabant on LXR␣-mediated lipogenesis in hepatocytes and the underlying basis. Rimonabant treatment inhibited CYP7A1-LXR␣ response element gene transactivation and an increase in LXR␣ mRNA level by the LXR␣ agonist N-(2,2,2-

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are widely expressed in organisms and are implicated in the regulation of most biological functions. The present study investigated the association of plasma miRNAs with the clinical outcomes of dual antiplatelet therapy in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Plasma miRNA levels were screened using high-throughput Illumina sequencing to evaluate the antiplatelet efficacy of clopidogrel and aspirin. Six plasma miRNAs (miR-126, miR-130a, miR-27a, miR-106a, miR-21, and miR-142) were associated with clopidogrel-treated platelet aggregation. These miRNAs were validated in a prospective cohort of 1230 CAD patients using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). High plasma miR-142 levels were associated with a high risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), with a hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) of 1.83 (1.30-2.59) at a false discovery rate of <5%. Multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed that diabetes mellitus, heart failure, calcium channel blocker application, and a high plasma miR-142 level were independent risk factors of MACE. The levels of the six plasma miRNAs were not significantly associated with bleeding events during the 3-year follow-up. In conclusion, plasma miR-142 is potential marker to predict MACE in CAD patients after PCI.

This paper provides reference for patient selection of UPPP plus GAHM, and considers that older or morbidly obese patients with OSAHS should be excluded from this operation.