Publication

Telomere length analysis in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis using large-scale whole genome sequence data.

Journal Paper/Review - Dec 15, 2022

Units
PubMed
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Citation
Al Khleifat A, Iacoangeli A, Jones A, Van Vugt J, Moisse M, Shatunov A, Zwamborn R, van der Spek R, Cooper-Knock J, Topp S, van Rheenen W, Kenna B, van Eijk K, Kenna K, Byrne R, López V, Opie-Martin S, Vural A, Campos Y, Weber M, Smith B, Fogh I, Silani V, Morrison K, Dobson R, van Es M, McLaughlin R, Vourc'h P, Chio A, Corcia P, de Carvalho M, Gotkine M, Panades M, Mora J, Shaw P, Landers J, Glass J, Shaw C, Başak N, Hardiman O, Robberecht W, Van Damme P, van den Berg L, Veldink J, Al-Chalabi A. Telomere length analysis in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis using large-scale whole genome sequence data. Front Cell Neurosci 2022; 16:1050596.
Type
Journal Paper/Review (English)
Journal
Front Cell Neurosci 2022; 16
Publication Date
Dec 15, 2022
Issn Print
1662-5102
Pages
1050596
Brief description/objective

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the loss of upper and lower motor neurons, leading to progressive weakness of voluntary muscles, with death following from neuromuscular respiratory failure, typically within 3 to 5 years. There is a strong genetic contribution to ALS risk. In 10% or more, a family history of ALS or frontotemporal dementia is obtained, and the Mendelian genes responsible for ALS in such families have now been identified in about 50% of cases. Only about 14% of apparently sporadic ALS is explained by known genetic variation, suggesting that other forms of genetic variation are important. Telomeres maintain DNA integrity during cellular replication, differ between sexes, and shorten naturally with age. Sex and age are risk factors for ALS and we therefore investigated telomere length in ALS.