Is telomere length associated with the cognitive response to a lifestyle intervention?: Supporting evidence from the FINGER trial
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 ...