Telomeres and their indication for us

Ask your doctor if signs of inattention after your stroke are because of telomere shortening or stroke related. I'm sure your doctor will use Occams' razor as an excuse to immediately identify it as stroke-related. But hell, be obstinate and demand to know why telomeres were ruled out. Telomeres  are defined here and here.
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Age-Related Biomarker Could Be Cause Of Wandering Mind

While previous research has suggested that individuals with wandering minds could be exhibiting signs of unhappiness, a new study shows that the inability to focus on a task at hand could be linked to aging.
In the new study, scientists from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) discovered that telomere length, a biological measure of aging at both the cellular and overall physiological level, played a role on whether or not a person would be present in the moment, or if they would be inclined to have thoughts about being somewhere else or doing something else.

 

ARE TELOMERES THE KEY TO AGING AND CANCER?

Inside the center or nucleus of a cell, our genes are located on twisted, double-stranded molecules of DNA called chromosomes. At the ends of the chromosomes are stretches of DNA called telomeres, which protect our genetic data, make it possible for cells to divide, and hold some secrets to how we age and get cancer.
Telomeres have been compared with the plastic tips on shoelaces because they prevent chromosome ends from fraying and sticking to each other, which would scramble an organism's genetic information to cause cancer, other diseases or death.
Yet, each time a cell divides, the telomeres get shorter. When they get too short, the cell no longer can divide and becomes inactive or "senescent" or dies. This process is associated with aging, cancer and a higher risk of death. So telomeres also have been compared with a bomb fuse.

 

 

Convention Video Blog: Violence Exposure During Childhood Is Associated With Telomere Erosion

 

Scientists See Beyond Nature and Nurture

As humans go through life, our cells are constantly reproducing, and because of this constant reproduction, older people have cells that have been copied more times than younger people. As our cells divide, our telomeres (a region of repetitive nucleotide sequences at the end of a chromosome) become shorter.  “The telomere is like a canary in a coal mine, and it senses the intercellular environment and it detects any stress in that environment,” Epel said.

Because of the sensitivity of telomeres to stress, people who have experienced prenatal, childhood, or adult stressors — such as child abuse, caregiver stress, or major depression — have shorter telomere length than people who have not experienced these events. People who have experienced stressful events can therefore be biologically older than those who have not experienced these stressors. In a study of mothers who have children with chronic conditions, Epel found that women with the highest perceived stress had shortened telomeres lengths equivalent to 10 years worth of biological aging.

 

Stress Hurts Our Minds and Our Bodies

In her study, Epel found that if female caregivers suffer chronic stress, they could experience telomere deterioration and premature aging even if they report that they cope well with stress.