Exercise and telomere length

You might need to go and look up telomeres to get this.  (There is a simple explanation here:  Telomeres are relatively short sections of specialized DNA that sit at the ends of all chromosomes. One of the Nobel Prize winners, Elizabeth Blackburn, Ph.D., of the University of California at San Francisco, has compared telomeres to the plastic tips at the ends of shoelaces that prevent the laces from unraveling.  Each time a cell divides, its telomeres erode slightly and become progressively shorter with each cell division. Eventually, telomeres become so short that their host cells stop dividing and lapse into a condition called cell senescence. As a result, vital tissues and important organs begin to fail and the classical signs of aging ensue.)

So longer telomeres protect from aging.

This study showed that long-term exercise altered telomere dynamics, slowing age-related decreases in telomere length in cardiac and liver tissue but contributing to shortening in exercised skeletal muscle.

So the heart and liver seemed to benefit while the muscles were aged....It is never simple


Chronic Exercise Modifies Age-Related Telomere Dynamics in a Tissue-Specific Fashion.

Depression and DNA aging

An interesting one in line with the impact of mind, attitude and social factors on our overall health.

The report is here - Does depression contribute to the aging process?

Stress has numerous detrimental effects on the human body. Many of these effects are acutely felt by the sufferer, but many more go 'unseen', one of which is shortening of telomere length.

Telomeres are protective caps on the ends of chromosomes and are indicators of aging, as they naturally shorten over time. However, telomeres are also highly susceptible to stress and depression, both of which have repeatedly been linked with premature telomere shortening.

The human stress response is regulated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, or HPA axis. This axis controls the body's levels of cortisol, the primary stress hormone, and it generally does not function normally in individuals with depression- and stress-related illnesses.

Telomere length

I just wanted to point to a couple of interesting stories I'd come across about telomeres.  The first was on the consistently excellent Perfect Health Diet:  Paul talks about What Telomeres Tell Us About Human Disease   It is a fascinating post.

At the same time, I also saw this in Scientific American, My, What Long Telomeres You Have 

Telomeres are caps on the ends of chromosomes, protecting them much as plastic tips on the ends of shoelaces keep the laces from fraying. Whenever chromosomes—the store houses of our genes—are replicated in preparation for cell division, their telomeres shorten. That shrinking has led many scientists to view telomere length as a marker of biological aging, a “molecular” clock ticking off the cell’s life span, as well as an indicator of overall health. Studies comparing the telomere length of white blood cells among groups of volunteers show distinct correlations between telomere length and lifestyle. Those who exercise regularly have longer telomeres than those who do not. Folks who perceive themselves as the most stressed have shorter telomeres than those who see themselves as the least.

 Definitely worth reading.