SOD2 and familial dilated cardiomyopathy: The main findings are as follows: 1) In older patients, DCM is associated with significant Sirt1 downregulation in both sexes, while pAMPK/AMPK ratio upregulation only appeared in males; 2) expression of several mitochondrial proteins (TOM40, TIM23, and Sirt3), including a main mitochondrial antioxidant SOD2, and mRNA (cox1, nd4) is reduced in older but not in younger DCM patients; 3) expression of the inflammatory markers in older hearts with DCM is increased, with a stronger pro-inflammatory response in older males with DCM.