• Tetiana Lapikova-Bryhinska, Stefano Ministrini, Yustina M Puspitasari, Simon Kraler, Shafeeq Ahmed Mohamed, Sarah Costantino, Francesco Paneni, Michael Khetsuriani, Susan Bengs, Luca Liberale, Fabrizio Montecucco, Wolfgang Krampla, Peter Riederer, Margareta Hinterberger, Peter Fischer, Thomas F Lüscher, Edna Grünblatt, Alexander Akhmedov, and Giovanni G Camici.
• Center for Molecular Cardiology, University of Zurich, Schlieren, Switzerland.
• Eur. J. Intern. Med. 2024 May 1; 123: 9410194-101.

IntroductionDifferential expression of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) is a hallmark of cardiovascular aging, cerebrovascular diseases, and neurodegenerative disorders. This research article investigates the association between a panel of lncRNAs and the risk of death and ischemic stroke in a cohort of non-institutionalized elderly subjects.MethodA total of 361 healthy individuals aged 75 years old, prospectively recruited in the Vienna Transdanube Aging (VITA) cohort, were included. Expression of lncRNAs at baseline was assessed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction PCR with pre-amplification reaction, using 18S for normalization. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality; the secondary endpoint was the incidence of new ischemic brain lesions. Death was assessed over a 14-year follow-up, and ischemic brain lesions were evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) over a 90-month follow-up. Ischemic brain lesions were divided into large brain infarcts (Ø≥ 1.5 cm) or lacunes (Ø< 1.5 cm) RESULTS: The primary endpoint occurred in 53.5 % of the study population. The incidence of the secondary endpoint was 16 %, with a 3.3 % being large brain infarcts, and a 12.7 % lacunes. After adjustment for potential confounders, the lncRNA H19 predicted the incidence of the primary endpoint (HR 1.194, 95 % C.I. 1.012-1.409, p = 0.036), whereas the lncRNA NKILA was associated with lacunar stroke (HR 0.571, 95 % C.I. 0.375-0.868, p = 0.006).ConclusionIn a prospective cohort of non-institutionalized elderly subjects, high levels of lncRNA H19 are associated with a higher risk of death, while low levels of lncRNA NKILA predict an increased risk of lacunar stroke.Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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