Telomere length in subjects with schizophrenia, their unaffected siblings and healthy controls: Evidence of accelerated aging

Leticia Sanguinetti Czepielewski; Raffael Massuda; Bruna Panizzutti; Eduarda Dias da Rosa; David de Lucena; Danielle Macêdo; Lucas Kich Grun; Florencia María Barbé-Tuana; Clarissa Severino Gama

doi:10.1016/j.schres.2016.04.004

Telomere length in subjects with schizophrenia, their unaffected siblings and healthy controls: Evidence of accelerated aging

Schizophr Res. 2016 Jul;174(1-3):39-42. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2016.04.004. Epub 2016 Apr 28.

Authors

Leticia Sanguinetti Czepielewski¹, Raffael Massuda², Bruna Panizzutti¹, Eduarda Dias da Rosa³, David de Lucena⁴, Danielle Macêdo⁴, Lucas Kich Grun⁵, Florencia María Barbé-Tuana⁵, Clarissa Severino Gama⁶

Affiliations

¹ Laboratório de Psiquiatria Molecular, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psiquiatria e Ciências do Comportamento, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
² Laboratório de Psiquiatria Molecular, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil; Departamento de Psiquiatria, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil.
³ Laboratório de Psiquiatria Molecular, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas: Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
⁴ Núcleo de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento de Medicamentos, Departamento de Fisiologia e Farmacologia, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil.
⁵ Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas: Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
⁶ Laboratório de Psiquiatria Molecular, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psiquiatria e Ciências do Comportamento, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 27131910
DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2016.04.004

Abstract

Schizophrenia (SZ) is associated with broad burden. The clinical manifestations of SZ are related to pathophysiological alterations similar to what is seen in normal aging. Our aim was to evaluate the differences in telomere length (TL), a biomarker of cellular aging, in subjects with SZ (n=36), unaffected siblings (SB, n=36) and healthy controls (HC, n=47). SZ had shorter TL compared to HC, but no difference was found in SB comparing to SZ. These findings indicate that a pathological accelerated aging profile could be present in the course of SZ and further studies are needed to confirm TL as potential endophenotype, especially in at risk populations.

Keywords: Accelerated aging; Biomarkers; Endophenotypes; Schizophrenia; Telomere length.

Publication types

Comparative Study
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Aging / metabolism
Analysis of Variance
Antipsychotic Agents / therapeutic use
Body Mass Index
Educational Status
Endophenotypes
Female
Humans
Interview, Psychological
Male
Middle Aged
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Schizophrenia / diagnosis
Schizophrenia / drug therapy
Schizophrenia / metabolism*
Siblings*
Telomere / metabolism
Telomere Shortening*
Young Adult

Substances

Antipsychotic Agents