In adults with AMI who are at risk for HF, empagliflozin did not reduce a composite of first HF hospitalization or all-cause death at 18 mo.

Butler J, Jones WS, Udell JA, et al. N Engl J Med. 2024;390:1455-1466.

Early-Onset of Transthyretin Amyloidosis in a Young Afro-Caribbean Woman With Thr60Ala Mutation.

Transthyretin amyloidosis involves the deposition of transthyretin amyloid fibrils in the body. We report an unusual case of a young Afro-Caribbean woman harboring a Thr60Ala mutation who presented with clinical signs of heart failure and polyneuropathy confirmed with genetic testing and results of an abdominal fat pad biopsy. ().

Gastrointestinal and liver diseases and atrial fibrillation: a review of the literature.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia worldwide and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. A number of risk factors have been associated with AF, though few studies have explored the association between gastrointestinal and liver diseases and AF. Additionally, AF and treatment for AF may predispose to gastrointestinal and liver diseases.

Differences in telomere length between sporadic and familial cutaneous melanoma.

Background: Several pieces of evidence indicate that a complex relationship exists between constitutional telomere length (TL) and the risk of cutaneous melanoma. Although the general perception is that longer telomeres increase melanoma risk, some studies do not support this association. We hypothesize that discordant data are due to the characteristics of the studied populations.

In young men sperm telomere length is related to sperm number and parental age.

Study Question: What are the relationships between telomere lengths in leukocytes and sperm, sperm count and parents' age at conception in a group of apparently healthy subjects of the same age?

Summary Answer: Sperm telomere length (STL) is related to sperm count, it is lower in oligozoospermic than in normozoospermic men and it is directly related to parents' age at conception.

What Is Known Already: Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) decreases with age but STL increases and offspring of older fathers tend to have longer leukocyte telomeres. Only one study analyzed STL in relation to male fertility, and reported shorter telomeres in infertile versus fertile men.

Immune senescence and cancer in elderly patients: results from an exploratory study.

Background: The challenge of immune senescence has never been addressed in elderly cancer patients. This study compares the thymic output and peripheral blood telomere length in ≥70year old cancer patients.

Patients And Methods: Fifty-two elderly cancer patients and 39 age-matched controls without personal history of cancer were enrolled.

hTERT inhibition triggers Epstein-Barr virus lytic cycle and apoptosis in immortalized and transformed B cells: a basis for new therapies.

Purpose: Induction of viral lytic cycle, which induces death of host cells, may constitute a useful adjunct to current therapeutic regimens for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-driven malignancies. Human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), essential for the oncogenic process, may modulate the switch from latent to lytic infection. The possible therapeutic role of hTERT inhibition combined with antiviral drugs was investigated.

Telomere-specific reverse transcriptase (hTERT) and cell-free RNA in plasma as predictors of pathologic tumor response in rectal cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy.

Purpose: To investigate whether the plasma levels of cell-free RNA (cfRNA) and telomere-specific reverse transcriptase mRNA (hTERT) are associated with tumor response in rectal cancer patients who received preoperative chemoradiotherapy (pCRT).

Methods: Patients who underwent pCRT for rectal cancer and for whom baseline and paired post-pCRT blood samples were available were studied. On the basis of tumor regression score, patients were classified as having response or having no response.

Telomere length and telomerase levels delineate subgroups of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia with different biological characteristics and clinical outcomes.

Background: B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia is a clinically heterogeneous disease; some patients rapidly progress and die within a few years of diagnosis, whereas others have a long life expectancy with minimal or no treatment. Telomere length and telomerase levels have been proposed as prognostic factors; however, very few cases have been characterized for both parameters and no study has analyzed the prognostic value of the telomere/telomerase profile.

Design And Methods: One hundred and seventy-three cases of chronic lymphocytic leukemia were characterized for telomere lengths and telomerase levels by real-time polymerase chain reaction.