Chromosome caps presage brain's decline

摘要

A sign of a cell's age could help predict the onset of dementia. Elderly people are more likely to develop cognitive problems if their telomeres - the stretches of DNA that cap the ends of chromosomes - are shorter than those of their peers.rnThe shortening of telomeres is linked to reduced lifespan, heart disease and osteoarthritis. Telomeres naturally shorten with age as cells divide, but also contract when cells experience oxidative damage linked to metabolism. Such damage is associated with cognitive problems like dementia. Thomas von Zglinicki at Newcastle University, UK, showed in 2000 that people with dementia not caused by Alzheimer's tended to have shorter telomeres than people without dementia.