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Biomedical subjects

Tom Kirkwood

Publications and source records attributed to Tom Kirkwood.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

Telomere length is associated with left ventricular function in the oldest old: the Newcastle 85+ study.

AIMS: Heart failure is a condition increasingly prevalent at older ages; however, mechanisms by which the ageing process affects cardiac function are largely unknown. Telomere length is a biomarker of ageing that has been suggested to be associated with a variety of diseases of late onset, but its relationship with cardiac function has not previously been studied. We measured telomere length in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and carried out echocardiography in a group of 85-year old subjects recruited from the community as part of the Newcastle 85+ Study. METHODS AND RESULTS: Eighty-nine subjects were recruited through local family practitioners. They were visited in their homes for clinical assessment and echocardiography, which was performed using a handheld device. Telomere length was measured by a real-time PCR method. High sensitivity C-reactive protein was measured using ELISA. Echocardiographic M-mode ejection fraction (EF) was strongly associated with telomere length (P=0.006) in subjects without evidence of previous MI. Sex and telomere length were significant predictors of EF while current smoking, blood pressure, plasma high sensitivity C-reactive protein, and use of cardiovascular medications were not. One standard deviation longer telomeres were associated with a 5% higher EF. Telomere length accounted for 12% of the observed variability in EF. CONCLUSION: These data show influences of the ageing process on myocardial function in the oldest old, apparently independent of other specific disease processes. This may be of importance in the aetiology of heart failure in this age group.

Aged, 80 and over↗
PubMed2004

Developmental plasticity and human health.

Many plants and animals are capable of developing in a variety of ways, forming characteristics that are well adapted to the environments in which they are likely to live. In adverse circumstances, for example, small size and slow metabolism can facilitate survival, whereas larger size and more rapid metabolism have advantages for reproductive success when resources are more abundant. Often these characteristics are induced in early life or are even set by cues to which their parents or grandparents were exposed. Individuals developmentally adapted to one environment may, however, be at risk when exposed to another when they are older. The biological evidence may be relevant to the understanding of human development and susceptibility to disease. As the nutritional state of many human mothers has improved around the world, the characteristics of their offspring--such as body size and metabolism--have also changed. Responsiveness to their mothers' condition before birth may generally prepare individuals so that they are best suited to the environment forecast by cues available in early life. Paradoxically, however, rapid improvements in nutrition and other environmental conditions may have damaging effects on the health of those people whose parents and grandparents lived in impoverished conditions. A fuller understanding of patterns of human plasticity in response to early nutrition and other environmental factors will have implications for the administration of public health.

Adaptation, Physiological↗