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Telomeres and telomerase in Alzheimer's disease: Epiphenomena or a new focus for therapeutic strategy?
Author(s) -
Franco Sonia,
Blasco Maria A.,
Siedlak Sandra L.,
Harris Peggy L.R.,
Moreira Paula I.,
Perry George,
Smith Mark A.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2006.03.001
Subject(s) - telomerase , telomere , focus (optics) , disease , mainstream , neuroscience , alzheimer's disease , epistemology , biology , cognitive science , psychology , medicine , genetics , philosophy , dna , pathology , gene , physics , theology , optics
New approaches to the elucidation of Alzheimer disease, even those with solid data, are often ignored or dismissed as epiphenomenal when they differ from the mainstream or theoretical expectations. Here we present a new piece to the puzzle, decreases in telomere length, and telomerase expression in neuronal populations known to be vulnerable to degeneration and death in Alzheimer's disease. We can present the answers to the question “what,” but the “why,” “when,” and “how” are not so easily answered. The goal of this report is to prompt discussion and more intensive study of this finding toward a new focus of therapeutic strategy.