Lifestyle improvements enhance telomerase activity
Lifestyle improvements enhance telomerase activity
An article appearing early online on September 16, 2008 in The Lancet
Oncology reports a pilot study conducted by Dean Ornish, MD and colleagues
which found that adopting positive lifestyle changes increases the activity
of telomerase, the enzyme responsible for maintaining telomeres. Telomeres
are DNA-protein complexes that cap the ends of chromosomes, aiding in their
stabilization. Telomere length is associated with age, and adequate telomere
length is vital to maintaining cells, including immune system cells which
protect the body against a number of diseases, such as cancer. Longer
telomere length has been associated with increased resistance to disease and
premature death in prostate, breast, lung and colorectal cancers.
The current study involved 24 patients with low-risk prostate cancer.
Dr Ornish, of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, and
his associates at the University of California, San Francisco, conducted a
three day intensive residential retreat followed by a three month
comprehensive lifestyle modification program. Participants were asked to
adopt diets in which fat was limited to 10 percent of their calorie intake,
and which contained a low amount of refined carbohydrates, abundant amounts
of whole grains, fruit and vegetables, and supplemental soy protein powder,
fish oil, vitamin E, selenium, and vitamin C. The subjects were also asked
to engage in moderate aerobic exercise for one half hour per day and one
hour stress management periods for six days per week, in addition to a one
hour weekly group support session. Blood samples were analyzed for
telomerase activity and other factors, and psychological distress was
evaluated at the beginning of the study and at the end of the three month
treatment period.
Participants reported close adherence to the lifestyle
recommendations. By the end of the study, telomerase levels in peripheral
blood mononuclear cells had increased by 29 percent. Low-density lipoprotein
(LDL) cholesterol levels declined from an average of 3.2 to 2.3 micromoles
per liter. Additionally, psychological distress, body mass index, waist
circumference, and systolic blood pressure were reduced.
Scientists are investigating the role of the telomerase in combating
aging-related diseases, yet the enzyme may sometimes have an opposing role
in the quest for a longer life because it helps maintain immortalized cancer
cells. However, in the current study, prostate specific antigen (PSA), which
is a marker of prostate cancer progression, slightly improved, as did free
PSA. Additionally, there was no clinical evidence in disease progression in
the study's subjects.
The authors remark that oxidative stress and inflammation are the most
common causes of accelerated telomere shortening, and that both processes
stem from poor nutrition, insufficient exercise, obesity, metabolic
syndrome, and stress: conditions that the current study's program was
designed to combat. The program could have positive effects on many chronic
diseases and conditions associated with aging, including certain cancers,
cardiovascular disease, diabetes and dementia.
"To our knowledge, we have reported here the first longitudinal study
showing that comprehensive lifestyle changes - or any intervention - are
significantly associated with increases in cellular telomerase activity
levels and telomere maintenance capacity in immune system cells," the
authors conclude. "The implications of this study are not limited to men
with prostate cancer. Comprehensive lifestyle changes may cause improvements
in telomerase and telomeres that may be beneficial to the general population
as well."
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