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. 2021 Nov 25:14:8797-8803.
doi: 10.2147/IJGM.S300309. eCollection 2021.

Patients with Earlobe Crease May Associate with Lower Concentration of the Age-Suppressing Hormone Klotho

Jian Wang #  1 , Zhan-Fang Zhu #  2 , Fu-Qiang Liu  3 , Cun Liu  4 , Ai-Mei Ou-Yang  1 , Wei-Wei Chen  1 , En-Guo Wang  1 , Xi-Ming Wang  5   6
Affiliations

Patients with Earlobe Crease May Associate with Lower Concentration of the Age-Suppressing Hormone Klotho

Jian Wang et al. Int J Gen Med. .

Abstract

Objective: Earlobe crease (ELC) has been considered as a skin sign of atherosclerosis, and its pathophysiological mechanism is still unclear. Our study aims to test the hypothesis that ELC patients with lower serum levels of the age-suppressing hormone Klotho, which is not only associated with premature aging but also with endothelial dysfunction, may be associated with atherosclerosis.

Methods: A total of 135 patients aged 40-68 years underwent coronary angiography. According to the presence or absence of coronary heart disease (CAD) and ELC, they were divided into three groups: CAD group and ELC group (ELC group, n = 45); no ELC group (non-ELC group, n = 45). There was no ELC or CAD in the control group (control group, n = 45). Serum Klotho concentration was obtained by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Results: The Klotho level in the ELC group was 365.6 ± 38.1 pg/mL, while the Klotho level in the non-ELC group was 568.8 ± 44.9 pg/mL. It is worth noting that the Klotho level of the ELC group was significantly lower than that of the non-ELC group (P < 0.001). The serum Klotho level of the control group was higher than that of the non-ELC group (593.3±45.3 vs 568.8±44.9 pg/mL, P = 0.702), but the difference was not statistically significant. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the Klotho level is a parameter that affects the appearance of ELC.

Conclusion: Serum Klotho levels were considerably lower in patients with ELC. We concluded that the perturbations of Klotho in patients might be associated with ELC and with CAD.

Keywords: Klotho; atherosclerosis; earlobe crease; premature aging.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Typical example of the unilateral earlobe crease. The arrow shows earlobe crease.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of serum Klotho levels between enrolled patients with and without diagonal ELC.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The potential pathophysiologic foundation for the relationship between ELC and CAD.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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