Short telomeres in patients with vascular dementia: An indicator of low antioxidative capacity and a possible risk factor?

Progressive cerebrovascular atherosclerosis and consecutive stroke are amon g the most common causes of dementia. However, specific risk factors for va scular dementia are still not known. Human telomeres shorten with each cell division in vitro and with donor age in vivo. In human fibroblasts in vitr o, the telomere shortening rate decreased with increasing antioxidative cap acity. There was a good intra-individual correlation between the age-correc ted telomere lengths in fibroblasts and peripheral blood mononuclear cells. In 186 individuals including 149 geriatric patients (age range, 55-98 yr), leukocyte telomeres in patients with probable or possible vascular dementi a were significantly shorter than in three age-matched control groups, name ly in cognitively competent patients suffering from cerebrovascular or card iovascular disease alone, in patients with probable Alzheimer's dementia, a nd in apparently healthy control subjects. No correlation was found to poly morphisms in the apolipoprotein E and glutathione-S-transferase genes. Telo mere length may be an independent predictor for the risk of vascular dement ia.