Down Syndrome Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Down Syndrome, including details on education, symptoms, treatment, information.

Telomere shortening in T lymphocytes of older individuals with Down syndrome and dementia.

Jenkins EC, Velinov MT, Ye L, Gu H, Li S, Jenkins EC, Brooks SS, Pang D, Devenny DA, Zigman WB, Schupf N, Silverman WP

New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, 1050 Forest Hill Road, Staten Island, NY 10314, USA. Ed.Jenkins@omr.state.ny.us

Telomere shortening has been recently correlated with Alzheimer's disease status. Therefore, we hypothesized that a possible association might exist for adults with Down syndrome (DS). Using blind, quantitative telomere protein nucleic acid FISH analyses of metaphase and interphase preparations from 18 age-matched trisomy 21 female study participants with and without dementia, we have observed increased telomere shortening in adults with DS and dementia (p < .01). From this initial study, we conclude that telomere shortening is associated with dementia in this high-risk population and suggest that additional research may show that telomere shortening may be a biological marker of dementia status.

Published 22 May 2006 in Neurobiol Aging, 27(7): 941-5.
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