1. Shorter telomere length is linked to brain atrophy and white matter hyperintensities.
- Author
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Wikgren, Mikael, Karlsson, Thomas, Söderlund, Hedvig, Nordin, Annelie, Roos, Göran, Nilsson, Lars-Göran, Adolfsson, Rolf, and Norrback, Karl-Fredrik
- Abstract
Background: leukocyte telomere length (TL) is considered a marker of biological aging. Several studies have investigated the link between leukocyte TL and aging-associated functional attributes of the brain, but no prior study has investigated whether TL can be linked to brain atrophy and white matter hyperintensities (WMHs); two prominent structural manifestations of brain aging.Methods: we investigated whether leukocyte TL was related to brain atrophy and WMHs in a sample of 102 non-demented individuals aged 64–75 years.Results: shorter TL was related to greater degree of subcortical atrophy (β = −0.217, P = 0.034), but not to cortical atrophy. Furthermore, TL was 371 bp shorter (P = 0.041) in participants exhibiting subcortical WMHs, and 552 bp shorter (P = 0.009) in older participants exhibiting periventricular WMHs.Conclusion: this study provides the first evidence of leukocyte TL being associated with cerebral subcortical atrophy and WMHs, lending further support to the concept of TL as a marker of biological aging, and in particular that of the aging brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2014