title: Long leukocyte telomere length at diagnosis is a risk factor for dementia progression in idiopathic parkinsonism.
abstract: Telomere length (TL) is regarded as a marker of cellular aging due to the gradual shortening by each cell division, but is influenced by a number of factors including oxidative stress and inflammation. Parkinson's disease and atypical forms of parkinsonism occur mainly in the elderly, with oxidative stress and inflammation in afflicted cells. In this study the relationship between blood TL and prognosis of 168 patients with idiopathic parkinsonism (136 Parkinson's disease [PD], 17 Progressive Supranuclear Palsy [PSP], and 15 Multiple System Atrophy [MSA]) and 30 controls was investigated. TL and motor and cognitive performance were assessed at baseline (diagnosis) and repeatedly up to three to five years follow up. No difference in TL between controls and patients was shown at baseline, nor any significant difference in TL stability or attrition during follow up. Interestingly, a significant relationship between TL at diagnosis and cognitive phenotype at follow up in PD and PSP patients was found, with longer mean TL at diagnosis in patients that developed dementia within three years.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biosciences, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Sofie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Degerman
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Neuroscience, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Domellöf
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biosciences, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Mattias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Landfors
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Neuroscience, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Linder
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Mathias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lundin
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biosciences, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Susann
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Haraldsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Elgh
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biosciences, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Göran
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Roos
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Neuroscience, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Forsgren
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019578:Multiple System Atrophy / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology*; D011379:Prognosis; D013494:Supranuclear Palsy, Progressive / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D016615:Telomere / Q000378:metabolism*