Telomeres, ribonucleoprotein complexes that cap eukaryotic chromosomes, typically shorten in leukocytes with aging. Aging is a primary risk factor for neurodegenerative disease (ND), and a common assumption has arisen that leukocyte telomere length (LTL) can serve as a predictor of neurological disease. However, the evidence for shorter LTL in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's patients is inconsistent. The diverse causes of telomere shortening may explain variability in LTL between studies and individuals. Additional research is needed to determine whether neuronal and glial telomeres shorten during aging and in neurodegenerative disorders, if and how LTL is related to brain cell telomere shortening, and whether telomere shortening plays a causal role in or exacerbates neurological disorders.

中文翻译：

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神经系统疾病中的端粒缩短：大量未解决的问题

端粒，即覆盖真核染色体的核糖核蛋白复合物，通常在白细胞中随着衰老而缩短。衰老是神经退行性疾病 (ND) 的主要危险因素，人们普遍认为白细胞端粒长度 (LTL) 可以作为神经系统疾病的预测因子。然而，阿尔茨海默病和帕金森病患者 LTL 较短的证据并不一致。端粒缩短的多种原因可以解释研究和个体之间 LTL 的变异性。需要进一步的研究来确定神经元和神经胶质端粒是否在衰老和神经退行性疾病中缩短，LTL 是否与脑细胞端粒缩短相关以及如何，以及端粒缩短是否在神经系统疾病中起因果作用或加剧神经系统疾病。