TY - JOUR
T1 - Telomere shortening in neurological disorders
T2 - An abundance of unanswered questions
AU - Eitan, Erez
AU - Hutchison, Emmette R.
AU - Mattson, Mark P.
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Telomeres, ribonucleoprotein complexes that cap eukaryotic chromosomes, typically shorten in leukocytes with aging. Aging is a primary risk factor for neurodegenerative disease (ND), and a common assumption has arisen that leukocyte telomere length (LTL) can serve as a predictor of neurological disease. However, the evidence for shorter LTL in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's patients is inconsistent. The diverse causes of telomere shortening may explain variability in LTL between studies and individuals. Additional research is needed to determine whether neuronal and glial telomeres shorten during aging and in neurodegenerative disorders, if and how LTL is related to brain cell telomere shortening, and whether telomere shortening plays a causal role in or exacerbates neurological disorders.
AB - Telomeres, ribonucleoprotein complexes that cap eukaryotic chromosomes, typically shorten in leukocytes with aging. Aging is a primary risk factor for neurodegenerative disease (ND), and a common assumption has arisen that leukocyte telomere length (LTL) can serve as a predictor of neurological disease. However, the evidence for shorter LTL in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's patients is inconsistent. The diverse causes of telomere shortening may explain variability in LTL between studies and individuals. Additional research is needed to determine whether neuronal and glial telomeres shorten during aging and in neurodegenerative disorders, if and how LTL is related to brain cell telomere shortening, and whether telomere shortening plays a causal role in or exacerbates neurological disorders.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84899960174&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84899960174&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.tins.2014.02.010
DO - 10.1016/j.tins.2014.02.010
M3 - Article
C2 - 24698125
AN - SCOPUS:84899960174
SN - 0166-2236
VL - 37
SP - 256
EP - 263
JO - Trends in Neurosciences
JF - Trends in Neurosciences
IS - 5
ER -