Use of statins and the risk of dementia and mild cognitive impairment: A systematic review and meta-analysis

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate whether the use of statins could be associated with the risk of all-caused dementia, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), vascular dementia (VaD), and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Major electronic databases were searched until December 27th, 2017 for studies investigating use of statins and incident cognitive decline in adults. Random-effects meta-analyses calculating relative risks (RRs) were conducted to synthesize effect sizes of individual studies. Twenty-five studies met eligibility criteria. Use of statins was significantly associated with a reduced risk of all-caused dementia (k = 16 studies, adjusted RR (aRR) = 0.849, 95% CI = 0.787–0.916, p = 0.000), AD (k = 14, aRR = 0.719, 95% CI = 0.576–0.899, p = 0.004), and MCI (k = 6, aRR = 0.737, 95% CI = 0.556–0.976, p = 0.033), but no meaningful effects on incident VaD (k = 3, aRR = 1.012, 95% CI = 0.620–1.652, p = 0.961). Subgroup analysis suggested that hydrophilic statins were associated with reduced risk of all-caused dementia (aRR = 0.877; CI = 0.818–0.940; p = 0.000) and possibly lower AD risk (aRR = 0.619; CI = 0.383–1.000; p = 0.050). Lipophilic statins were associated with reduced risk of AD (aRR = 0.639; CI = 0.449–0.908; p = 0.013) but not all-caused dementia (aRR = 0.738; CI = 0.475–1.146; p = 0.176). In conclusion, our meta-analysis suggests that the use of statins may reduce the risk of all-type dementia, AD, and MCI, but not of incident VaD

THE HETEROPLASMIC AND HOMOPLASMIC STATES OF MITOCHONDRIAL AND CHLOROPLAST DNA REGIONS IN THE PROGENIES OF WIDE HYBRIDS OF COMMON WHEAT OF DIFFERENT ORIGINS

The states of the 18S/5S mitochondrial (mt) repeat and some chloroplast DNA regions have been studied in alloplasmic lines of common wheat with cytoplasm from barley species Hordeum marinum subsp. gussoneanum Hudson and H. vulgare L., and in progenies of reciprocal hybrids between Triticum aestivum L. and Secale cereale L. The heteroplasmic state of the 18S/5S repeat, which was a result of biparental mtDNA transmission, is observed in rye × wheat hybrids and in their progenies possessing rye cytoplasm. For the first time, the heteroplasmic state of chloroplast DNA associated with heteroplasmy of the 18S/5S mt repeat has been detected in cereals by using alloplasmic wheat lines. It has been found that the transition of mt- and cpDNA heteroplasmy, barley homoplasmy of chloroplast regions to wheat homoplasmy is associated with complete fertility restoration and barley chromosome elimination from the newly developed nuclear genomes of alloplasmic lines