The scientists of the mass general Brigham have explored the associations between the length of the telomeres – which decrease as a person or is exposed to unhealthy environments and the risk of age -related brain diseases. The research team has found evidence suggesting that healthier lifestyle choices could mitigate the risks associated with the length of the telomeres. Their results are published in Neurology, The Medical Journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Reduction of risk factors such as alcohol weight and consumption as well as more sleep and exercise can all help to reverse the risk of age -related brain diseases, even for people who already show signs of organic aging. In short, it is never too late to start taking care of your brain better. “”
Tamara Kimball, MD, main author, Neurotechnology and Neurorecavery center, Massachusetts General Hospital
The risk of stroke, dementia and late depression (LLD) increases for people as they age. Likewise, telomeres, which are protective ceilings on chromosomes, naturally shorten with age, or exposure to unfavorable environmental conditions, such as stress and pollution, increasing the risk of DNA damage. This study sought to determine the association between these age -related brain diseases and the length of the telocytes (LTL), and if LTL was a direct causal factor or simply a predictive marker for brain diseases.
To study this relationship, the research team analyzed the data of 356,173 participants in the British Biobank. They also used the McCance brain care score (BCS), which explains factors such as blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and lifestyle behavior and emotional social aspects that influence the profiles of risk factors.
Their results have shown that individuals with shorter LTLs and lower BCS, reflecting less optimal lifestyle choices, were more at risk for these brain diseases. In particular, those who have shorter LTLs but healthier lifestyle scores (high BCS) have not shown a significantly increased risk, which suggests that a high BCS can reduce the effects of short telomeres.
A notable limitation of the study was that the LTL was only measured during the initial visit, and therefore the shortening of the telomeres could not be followed over time. In addition, the study included only individuals of European origin, which limits its generalization. However, the reduction in risk factors seems to alleviate the negative effects of shorter telomeres on brain health, which opens the way to future studies to explore if lifestyle interventions can actually slow down the effects of aging on the brain.
Source:
Journal reference:
Kimball, TN, and al. (2025). Association of the length of leukocyte telomeres with stroke, dementia and late depression. Neurology. Doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000213794.