Mejía-Ortiz Paola, Genis-Mendoza Alma Delia, Ramírez Villanueva Ramon, López Ramírez Susana, Guzmán Sánchez Rafael, Fernández Thalia, Sigg-Alonso Jorge, Nicolini-Sánchez Humberto
Posgrado en Ciencias (Neurobiología), Unidad de Enseñanza Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Campus Juriquilla 3001, Querétaro C.P. 76230, Mexico.
Laboratorio de Genómica de las Enfermedades Psiquiátricas y Neurodegenerativas, Instituto Nacional de Medicina Genómica, Secretaría de Salud, Ciudad de México C.P. 14610, Mexico.
Int J Mol Sci. 2025 May 10;26(10):4577. doi: 10.3390/ijms26104577.
Neurocognitive disorders (NCD) are neurodegenerative diseases characterized by decline or loss of cognitive functions. Aging and the genotype have been identified as major risk factors. Telomere length (TL) has been proposed as a biomarker of aging, with shorter TL associated with cognitive decline. This study investigated the relationship between TL and the genotype in individuals with cognitive impairments (CIs). A total of 170 participants aged >55 years were included. Cognitive function was assessed using the MMSE and MoCA tests. Relative telomere quantification and genotype were determined by real-time PCR. A significant association was observed between shorter TL and an increased risk of CI ( < 0.001). Although ε4 is a known genetic risk factor, its association with CI was less clear in this study population, as a considerable proportion of ε4 carriers did not present cognitive impairment ( < 0.05). However, ε4 carriers with CI tended to have shorter TL than those with non-cognitive impairment (NCI-SMC). Furthermore, fewer years of education were strongly correlated with higher CI risk ( < 0.0001). Overall, individuals with both shorter telomeres and lower educational levels exhibited the highest risk of CI. ε4 may contribute to telomere shortening.
神经认知障碍（NCD）是一类以认知功能减退或丧失为特征的神经退行性疾病。衰老和基因型已被确定为主要风险因素。端粒长度（TL）已被提议作为衰老的生物标志物，较短的端粒长度与认知能力下降相关。本研究调查了认知障碍（CI）个体中端粒长度与基因型之间的关系。共纳入了170名年龄大于55岁的参与者。使用简易精神状态检查表（MMSE）和蒙特利尔认知评估量表（MoCA）测试评估认知功能。通过实时聚合酶链反应（PCR）测定相对端粒定量和基因型。观察到较短的端粒长度与认知障碍风险增加之间存在显著关联（P<0.001）。虽然ε4是一个已知的遗传风险因素，但在本研究人群中，其与认知障碍的关联不太明确，因为相当一部分ε4携带者并未出现认知障碍（P<0.05）。然而，患有认知障碍的ε4携带者往往比无认知障碍者（NCI-SMC）的端粒长度更短。此外，受教育年限较少与较高的认知障碍风险密切相关（P<0.0001）。总体而言，端粒较短且教育水平较低的个体表现出最高的认知障碍风险。ε4可能导致端粒缩短。
