Centromeric and telomeric repeats are stable in nonagenarians as revealed by the double hybridization fluorescent in situ technique.

We report a simple method for simultaneous identification of centromeric and telomeric repeat sequences of human chromosomes. Employing this technique, we investigated the stability of centromeres and telomeres in individuals over 90 years of age and compared them with younger controls (< 40 years). Our findings suggest that centromeric and telomeric repeats remain apparently stable in nonagenarians. These findings are enigmatic because it has been suggested that centromeres are lost in older individuals. Furthermore, telomeric shortening has been observed in aged lymphocytes and cellular senescence. However, stability of telomeric repeats noted in nonagenarians may be masked by loss followed by compensation by a process called telomeric elongation.