Plasma B-type natriuretic peptide is independently associated with cardiovascular events and mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease.

The association between B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and cardiovascular (CV) events and mortality has not been well characterized in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). We prospectively investigated whether BNP was associated with CV events or mortality beyond cardiac alterations in 1078 patients with CKD. Participants were divided into the following 3 groups according to circulating BNP concentration: < 40 pg/mL, low; 40-100 pg/mL, middle; and > 100 pg/mL, high.

ALDH2 rs671 variant allele is associated with higher energy intake in middle-aged and elderly Japanese who routinely consume alcohol.

Background: According to recent reports, individuals with reduced aldehyde dehydrogenase activity may require more energy for the detoxification of aldehydes. Aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2), an ALDH isozyme, is responsible for detoxifying acetaldehyde, an intermediate metabolite of ethanol. Because the variant allele of the rs671 polymorphism of ALDH2 results in a substantial reduction in enzymatic activity, carriers of this variant allele may have a higher energy demand when consuming alcohol than non-carriers.