title: Telomere shortening in T lymphocytes of older individuals with Down syndrome and dementia.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: 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
authors.forename: Edmund C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Jenkins
authors.forename: Milen T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Velinov
authors.forename: Lingling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Shuyun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Edmund C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Jenkins
authors.forename: Susan Sklower
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Brooks
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pang
authors.forename: Darlynne A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Devenny
authors.forename: Warren B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Zigman
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Schupf
authors.forename: Wayne P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Silverman
mesh_terms: D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D003704:Dementia / Q000235:genetics*; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005819:Genetic Markers / Q000235:genetics; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007399:Interphase / Q000235:genetics; D008677:Metaphase / Q000235:genetics; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000473:pathology; D016615:Telomere / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers