Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
Neurobiol Aging. 2011 Nov;32(11):2055-60. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2009.12.006. Epub 2009 Dec 23.
Telomere shortening is a marker of cellular aging and has been associated with risk of Alzheimer's disease. Few studies have determined if telomere length is associated with cognitive decline in non-demented elders. We prospectively studied 2734 non-demented elders (mean age: 74 years). We measured cognition with the Modified Mini-Mental State Exam (3MS) and Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) repeatedly over 7 years. Baseline telomere length was measured in blood leukocytes and classified by tertile as "short", "medium", or "long". At baseline, longer telomere length was associated with better DSST score (36.4, 34.9 and 34.4 points for long, medium and short, p<0.01) but not for change in score. However, 7-year 3MS change scores were less among those with longer telomere length (-1.7 points vs. -2.5 and -2.9, p=0.01). Findings were similar after multivariable adjustment for age, gender, race, education, assay batch, and baseline score. There was a borderline statistically significant interaction for telomere length and APOE e4 on 3MS change score (p=0.06). Thus, telomere length may serve as a biomarker for cognitive aging.
端粒缩短是细胞衰老的标志，与阿尔茨海默病的风险相关。很少有研究确定端粒长度是否与非痴呆老年人的认知能力下降有关。我们前瞻性地研究了 2734 名非痴呆老年人（平均年龄：74 岁）。我们使用改良的迷你精神状态检查（3MS）和数字符号替代测试（DSST）多次在 7 年内测量认知能力。在基线时，我们测量了血液白细胞中的端粒长度，并按三分位法分为“短”、“中”或“长”。在基线时，较长的端粒长度与更好的 DSST 分数相关（长、中、短的分数分别为 36.4、34.9 和 34.4，p<0.01），但与分数的变化无关。然而，7 年 3MS 变化分数在端粒较长的人群中较低（-1.7 分比-2.5 和-2.9，p=0.01）。在调整年龄、性别、种族、教育、检测批次和基线分数等多变量后，结果相似。端粒长度与 APOE e4 对 3MS 变化分数的交互作用具有统计学意义（p=0.06）。因此，端粒长度可能是认知衰老的生物标志物。
