Dementia and Neurocognitive Disorders (대한치매학회지)

Korean Dementia Association (대한치매학회)
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Is Telomere Length Shortening a Risk Factor for Neurodegenerative Disorders?

  • Hyun-Jung Yu (Department of Neurology, Bundang Jesaeng General Hospital) ;
  • Seong-Ho Koh (Department of Neurology, Hanyang University College of Medicine)
  • Received : 2022.06.15
  • Accepted : 2022.06.30
  • Published : 2022.07.31
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Abstract

Telomeres are located at the end of chromosomes. They are known to protect chromosomes and prevent cellular senescence. Telomere length shortening has been considered an important marker of aging. Many studies have reported this concept in connection with neurodegenerative disorders. Considering the role of telomeres, it seems that longer telomeres are beneficial while shorter telomeres are detrimental in preventing neurodegenerative disorders. However, several studies have shown that people with longer telomeres might also be vulnerable to neurodegenerative disorders. Before these conflicting results can be explained through large-scale longitudinal clinical studies on the role of telomere length in neurodegenerative disorders, it would be beneficial to simultaneously review these opposing results. Understanding these conflicting results might help us plan future studies to reveal the role of telomere length in neurodegenerative disorders. In this review, these contradictory findings are thoroughly discussed, with the aim to better understand the role of telomere length in neurodegenerative disorders.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by a grant from the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (grant numbers: HI20C0253, HU21C0113, and HU21C0007) and the Medical Research Center (2017R1A5A2015395).

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