MSGID: 1:317/3 641bd5e8   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Telomere shortening -- a sign of cellular aging -- linked to signs of   
   Alzheimer's in brain scans    
    The length of the telomeres which cap chromosomes is associated with a   
   reduced risk of dementia, but not stroke or Parkinson's    
      
     Date:   
         March 22, 2023   
     Source:   
         PLOS   
     Summary:   
         Changes in the brain caused by Alzheimer's disease are associated   
         with shortening of the telomeres -- the protective caps on the   
         ends of chromosomes that shorten as cells age -- according to a   
         new study.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   Changes in the brain caused by Alzheimer's disease are associated   
   with shortening of the telomeres -- the protective caps on the ends of   
   chromosomes that shorten as cells age -- according to a new study led   
   by Anya Topiwala of Oxford Population Health, part of the University of   
   Oxford, UK, published March 22 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Telomeres on chromosomes protect DNA from degrading, but every time a   
   cell divides, the telomeres lose some of their length. Short telomeres   
   are a sign of stress and cellular aging, and are also associated with a   
   higher risk of neurological and psychiatric disorders. Currently, little   
   is known about the links between telomere length and changes that occur   
   in the brains of people with neurological conditions. Understanding those   
   relationships could offer insights into the biological mechanisms that   
   cause neurodegenerative disorders.   
      
   In the new study, researchers compared telomere length in white blood   
   cells to results from brain MRIs and electronic health records from more   
   than 31,000 participants in the UK Biobank, a large-scale biomedical   
   database and research resource containing anonymized genetic, lifestyle   
   and health information from half a million UK participants. The analysis   
   revealed that patients with longer telomeres also tended to have better   
   brain health. They had a larger volume of grey matter in their brains   
   overall and a larger hippocampus, both of which shrink in patients with   
   Alzheimer's disease. Longer telomeres were also associated with a thicker   
   cerebral cortex -- the outer, folded layer of grey matter -- which thins   
   as Alzheimer's disease progresses. The researchers speculate that longer   
   telomeres might therefore help protect patients from developing dementia,   
   though there was no association with stroke or Parkinson's disease.   
      
   Overall, the findings show that shorter telomeres can be linked to   
   multiple changes in the brain associated with dementia. To date, this is   
   the largest and richest study of the relationships between telomere length   
   and MRI markers in the brain. The associations suggest that accelerated   
   aging in the brain, as indicated by telomere length, could represent a   
   biological pathway that leads to neurodegenerative disease.   
      
   The authors add: "We found associations between telomere length, a marker   
   of biological ageing, and multiple aspects of brain structure. This   
   may explain why individuals with longer telomeres have a lower risk   
   of dementia."   
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Health_&_Medicine   
                   # Healthy_Aging # Alzheimer's_Research # Nervous_System   
                   # Diseases_and_Conditions   
             o Mind_&_Brain   
                   # Disorders_and_Syndromes # Dementia # Alzheimer's #   
                   Neuroscience   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Alzheimer's_disease o Telomere o Dementia_with_Lewy_bodies   
             o Urinary_incontinence o Human_genome o Turner_syndrome o   
             Excitotoxicity_and_cell_damage o Neurobiology   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by PLOS. Note: Content may be edited   
   for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Anya Topiwala, Thomas E. Nichols, Logan Z. J. Williams, Emma   
      C. Robinson,   
         Fidel Alfaro-Almagro, Bernd Taschler, Chaoyue Wang, Christopher P.   
      
         Nelson, Karla L. Miller, Veryan Codd, Nilesh J. Samani, Stephen   
         M. Smith.   
      
         Telomere length and brain imaging phenotypes in UK Biobank. PLOS   
         ONE, 2023; 18 (3): e0282363 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0282363   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230322190926.htm   
      
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