In one recent cross-sectional study by Ji et al.4 in 60 patients with diabetes (of whom 33 had diabetic retinopathy), the authors observed that more advanced stages of diabetic eye disease were associated with lower circulating Klotho levels and that Klotho pre-treatment ameliorated palmitic acid induced apoptosis in human retinal endothelial cells. The gene discussed is KL; the disease is diabetes mellitus.