WHAT ARE TELOMERES AND WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT?

Telomeres are the caps at the end of the chromosomes and play an important role in the aging process. Chromosomes are the structures which contain all of our genetic information. Telomeres protect our genetic information, avoiding the destabilization of the genes which is the cause of aging and disease.

 

In any living organism, aging is the result of the decrease in the number and/or function of the cells. Each time a cell is replicated, the telomeres shorten until they reach a point where they cannot divide anymore. When telomeres are short the cells become sensitized – they cease to function properly and die. Because of this, telomere length is a crucial biomarker in understanding the aging of an organism and the related diseases that manifest themselves (with the exception of infections and traumas) along with more common diseases and causes of death in the majority of human species, such as:
 

• Cancer

• Cardiovascular Disease (Heart Attacks and ACVS)

• Metabolic Diseases (Diabetes)

• Dementia

• Parkinson’s

• Alzheimer’s

• Arthritis and Osteoporosis
   

In all living organisms, there is an enzyme called Telomerase, whose function is to protect the telomeres. This avoids shortening with each cell division, therefore maintaining the replicative capacity of the cells and protecting DNA from imbalance. However, Telomerase gradually loses its protective function on telomeres from the time of conception in humans, causing cellular aging and age-related diseases. To explain this in numerical terms, telomeres measure approximately 15,000 Kb at the time of conception and death occurs once the telomere length falls below 5,000 Kb. The goal of Age Management Medicine is to slow down and/or reverse the shortening of telomeres.