Association of chronic fatigue syndrome with premature telomere attrition (2018) Unger et al

Could it just mean that the cells are older than usual?

 

From the "Conclusions" section of the paper...

 

I'm not sure. Telomeres shorten when cells divide, so it could be argued that older cells, those that have gone through fewer cell divisions, would have longer telomeres (cerebral neurons, for instance, are never replaced). On the other hand, telomere length can reconstitute, so it seems like the decline of that ability may be the major contributor to shorter telomere length.

 

For context to...

...I would highlight that this week's New Scientist reports a separate study that shows that telomere lengths in women who have children are shorter by an equivalent of 11 years ageing compared to women who are childless. Yet AFAIK mothers don't die 11 years earlier than non-mothers, so I wouldn't over-interpret this data.

 

We aren't nematodes and we aren't hibernating. Telomere shortening is potentially consistent with chronic illness...