The Association Between Telomere Length Tests and Treatment Recommendations
Looking at the endcaps of the DNA, these are also referred to as telomeres. According to studies from scientists and physicians, you get a five percent variability rate from the length of you telomeres when you measure it. From these studies, health professionals delved deeper on testing telomere length and how it affects making treatment decisions for patients wo are dealing with certain types of diseases. These diseases are often associated with specific kinds of bone marrow failure. Testing or getting the length of the telomeres has been proven to offer a lot of benefits for health professionals when it comes to providing proper care to their patients. These days, a lot of research studies have been done in measuring telomere lengths to make smart treatment decisions for patients and their disease conditions. You will learn more about these studies from this website.
When it comes to studies carried out on particular health conditions, scientists have shown that there are diseases related to short telomeres. In a published report last February, researchers discovered that results for telomere length testing can help figure out individuals who are at great risk for developing health conditions characterized by short telomeres. Examples of genetic diseases associated with very short telomeres are those that manifest as bone marrow failure or pulmonary fibrosis. Health diseases associated with short telomeres have been found to affect around 5,000 to 10,000 Americans. According to health professionals, these diseases may even affect as many people as those suffering from specific types of leukemia. The prevalence is even thought of to be higher than the present-day estimates.
For the measurement of telomere length to be accurate, the use of a clinically reliable tool is a must. This is crucial when it comes to the application of the test in hospital settings. Measuring telomere lengths also allows for doctors to better access them. These results are something that doctors use for them to provide recommendations for treatment as well as have a proper diagnosis for their patients.
Telomeres are crucial parts of your DNA because they offer protection for its ends. Simply, they act like plastic tubes that are present on the ends of the shoelaces that you have. Generally, with aging, they also shorten. There are repetitive DNA sequences that comprise the telomeres. The length of normal telomeres are enough to withstand erosion and damages that take place over a normal cell lifespan. Cells that have very short telomeres cannot take care of these damages. The endcaps of your DNA are something that they can easily blow up. This is why people suffer from certain diseases. The most common diseases associated with short telomeres include bone marrow failure and pulmonary fibrosis. These people are also at risk for liver disease, emphysema, other cancers, and myelodysplastic syndrome. This is one of the reasons why getting the length of your telomeres properly can help these people and what they are going through.