title: Telomeres and age-related disease: how telomere biology informs clinical paradigms.
abstract: Telomere length shortens with age and predicts the onset of replicative senescence. Recently, short telomeres have been linked to the etiology of degenerative diseases such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, bone marrow failure, and cryptogenic liver cirrhosis. These disorders have recognizable clinical manifestations, and the telomere defect explains their genetics and informs the approach to their treatment. Here, I review how telomere biology has become intimately connected to clinical paradigms both for understanding pathophysiology and for individualizing therapy decisions. I also critically examine nuances of interpreting telomere length measurement in clinical studies.
authors: Department of Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, and McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA. marmani1@jhmi.edu
authors: Mary
authors: M
authors: Armanios
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D000818:Animals; D006579:Heterozygote; D006801:Humans; D054990:Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology; D016615:Telomere / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D059505:Telomere Homeostasis; D059506:Telomere Shortening