Short and long telomeres increase risk of amnestic mild cognitive impairment

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Neuroscience
• Genetics

Background:

• Peripheral blood telomere length is associated with age-related diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD).
• Telomere length may potentially identify individuals at higher risk for AD.
• Alzheimer's disease (AD) poses a significant public health challenge, necessitating early detection and risk assessment strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between peripheral blood telomere length and the risk of developing amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI).
• To determine if telomere length can serve as a predictive biomarker for aMCI, a known precursor to AD.
• To explore the role of telomere length in the pathogenesis of aMCI within an elderly cohort.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, prospectively following participants for incident aMCI.
• Matched 137 incident aMCI cases with 137 cognitively normal controls based on age and sex.
• Quantified peripheral blood telomere length (T/S ratio) at baseline using quantitative PCR.

Main Results:

• Subjects with the shortest (Q1) and longest (Q5) telomere lengths exhibited an elevated risk of aMCI compared to those with mid-range telomere lengths (Q3).
• The hazard ratio for aMCI was 2.85 for the shortest telomeres (p=0.05) and 5.58 for the longest telomeres (p=0.0003).
• Both extremes of telomere length were significantly associated with an increased risk of developing aMCI in this elderly cohort.

Conclusions:

• Both short and long peripheral blood telomere lengths are associated with an increased risk of amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI).
• These findings suggest that telomere length may play a role in the underlying mechanisms of aMCI.
• Telomere length could potentially serve as a biomarker for identifying individuals at increased risk for aMCI and subsequently AD.