Telomere Length Predicts Vulnerability to the Common Cold

With each division of a healthy cell, telomeres (the ends of chromosomes) get shorter. Thus, the length of a cell's telomeres is a measure of its biological age. Older adults, whose leukocytes have shorter telomeres, are more likely to develop chronic age-related diseases, including cancer and heart disease (JW Gen Med Jul 20 2010 and JW Gen Med Jan 25 2007).

A multicenter team recruited 152 healthy young adults (age range, 18–55) and prospectively determined telomere length in several lymphocyte subsets (CD8⁺CD28^–) that play an important role in containing viral infections. Then, they inoculated the volunteers with rhinovirus, quarantined them, and monitored them for 5 days. Participants with shorter CD8⁺CD28^– telomeres were significantly m…