A recent study published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE suggests that Alzheimer’s disease-related alterations in the brain are linked to telomere shortening. Telomeres, the protective caps at the end of chromosomes, shorten as cells age.
The new study, conducted by the University of Oxford’s Population Health department in the UK, compared telomere length in white blood cells to brain MRIs from the electronic health records of over 31,000 participants in the UK Biobank. The researchers found that people with longer telomeres tended to have better brain health, including a larger volume of grey matter and a thicker cerebral cortex, which atrophy in Alzheimer’s patients.
Longer telomeres may protect people from developing dementia, the study suggests, but no association was found with stroke or Parkinson’s disease. The researchers believe these findings provide valuable insights into the potential protective role of telomeres against Alzheimer’s disease.
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