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Updated: Oct 15, 2025

Telomere Length and Telomerase Activity; A Yin and Yang of Cell Senescence
Published on: May 22, 2013
Telomere length and chronic kidney disease: cause or consequence?
1Institute of Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Genetics and Pharmacology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
Abstract:
Telomere length is considered as a clock mirroring aging and is influenced by oxidative stress and inflammation. Both conditions are highly prevalent in patients with chronic kidney disease and other degenerative disorders, such as cardiovascular disease. However, it is discussed controversially whether short telomeres are causally associated with chronic kidney disease or whether chronic kidney disease is contributing to an attrition of telomere length. Park et al., in this issue of Kidney International, use an extended 2-sample Mendelian randomization analysis with large data sets to shed new light on this research question.
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