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A new study from the FINGER trial team shows that participants with shorter leukocyte telomere length (LTL) had more pronounced benefits on cognition following the multidomain lifestyle intervention. "These findings are very promising, as individuals with shorter telomeres may represent an at-risk group," says Dr. Shireen Sindi, lead author of the study based at Karolinska Institute (Sweden) and Imperial College London (UK). Telomeres are found at the end of chromosomes (which hold our DNA), protecting them from deteriorating or getting tangled up with neighboring chromosomes. Telomeres play an important role in the process of cell division. The current study is the first to assess whether baseline LTL can modify the effects of a multidomain lifestyle intervention on cognition among older adults who are at risk for cognitive decline. The results showed that the beneficial intervention effects on cognition were more pronounced among individuals with shorter baseline ...

The findings from one of the world's largest big-data studies on Alzheimer's counter long-held beliefs about who is at greatest risk for the disease and when, suggesting new avenues for clinical trials. Study results show genetically vulnerable 55- to 85-year-old white men and women have the same odds of developing the memory-erasing disease. One exception: From their mid-60s to mid-70s, these women still face significantly higher risk. That may provide clues to disease causes and potential interventions among these women. "Our discovery is important because it highlights how clinical trials could be weighted toward women -- a susceptible part of the population -- to help scientists more rapidly identify effective drug interventions to slow or cure Alzheimer's," said Arthur Toga, director of the USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute at the Keck School of Medicine -- among the nation's leaders in innovative scientific discovery. The study...