Telomere length in Parkinson's disease: A meta-analysis

• Published in: Experimental gerontology Vol. 75; pp. 53 - 55
• Main Authors: Forero, Diego A., González-Giraldo, Yeimy, López-Quintero, Catalina, Castro-Vega, Luis J., Barreto, George E., Perry, George
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Inc 01.03.2016
• Subjects: Case-Control Studies; Epigenomics; Humans; Meta-analysis; Movement disorders; Parkinson Disease - genetics; Parkinson's disease; Risk Factors; Telomere - pathology; Telomere Shortening; Telomeres; Telomeres; Epigenomics; Parkinson's disease; Movement disorders; Meta-analysis
• ISSN: 0531-5565; 1873-6815
• DOI: 10.1016/j.exger.2016.01.002

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common and severe movement disorder. Differences in telomere length (TL) have been reported as possible risk factors for several neuropsychiatric disorders, including PD. Results from published studies for TL in PD are inconsistent, highlighting the need for a meta-analysis. In the current work, a meta-analysis of published studies for TL in PD was carried out. PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar databases were used to identify relevant articles that reported TL in groups of PD patients and controls. A random-effects model was used for meta-analytical procedures. The meta-analysis included eight primary studies, derived from populations of European and Asian descent, and did not show a significant difference in TL between 956 PD patients and 1284 controls (p value: 0.246). Our results show that there is no consistent evidence of shorter telomeres in PD patients and suggest the importance of future studies on TL and PD that analyze other populations and also include assessment of TL from different brain regions. •A meta-analysis of telomere length (TL) in Parkinson's disease (PD) is needed.•A meta-analysis for TL and PD was carried out and 7 studies were included.•There was no consistent evidence of shorter telomeres in PD (p value: 0.284).•Future studies are needed for a deeper understanding of the role of TL in PD.