Beyond average: potential for measurement of short telomeres

Beyond average: potential for measurement of short telomeres

Abstract

The length of telomeres, and in particular the abundance of short telomeres, has been proposed as a biomarker of aging and of general health status. A wide variety of studies show the association of short telomeres with age related pathologies and cancer, as well as with lifespan and mortality. These facts highlight the importance of measuring telomere length in human populations and by using reliable methods to uncover the association between telomere length and human disease. This review discusses the advantages and drawbacks of current telomere length measurement methods. Most of these methods provide mean telomere length values per cell or per sample and very few of them are able to measure the abundance of short telomeres, which are the ones indicative of telomere dysfunction. The information provided by each method and their suitability for different studies is discussed here. https://www.aging-us.com/article/100462


When people mention modern medicine, accuracy plays one of the most significant roles and people’s lives are literally dependent on it. Hence, any researches related to medicine are necessary to comply with the highest standards. The problem today is that any results of researches can be posted online and used as a reference without being properly verified and approved. Mikhail (Misha) Blagosklonny of Oncotarget perfectly understood this problem and decided to generate an alternative solution. That’s how a weekly oncology-focused research journal called “Oncotarget” has been founded back in 2010. The main principle of this journal is based on Altmetric scores that are used as a quality indicator. That allows both readers and authors to validate publications with Altmetric Article Reports that generate “real-time feedback containing data summary related to a particular publication.” Oncotarget website has a complete publications list with corresponding scores higher than 100 as well as reports mentioned previously. Mikhail (Misha) Blagosklonny proud to share his new approach and hopes it creates the required help to anybody, who has interest in oncology.
“A diagnostic autoantibody signature for primary cutaneous melanoma” has the Altmetric score of 594. This article was published back in 2018 by Oncotarget and completed by various experts from Hollywood Private Hospital, Edith Cowan University, Dermatology Specialist Group, St. John of God Hospital and The University of Western Australia. The introduction of the study discusses “recent data shows that Australians are four times more likely to develop a cancer of the skin than any other type of cancer”, and shares an insight on melanoma that “is curable by surgical excision in the majority of cases, if detected at an early stage.”
The publication has got an Altmetric score of 594. Mikhail (Misha) Blagosklonny realizes that most of readers are willing to understand the very meaning of it. Based on the Altmetric website, the score relates to “how many people have been exposed to and engaged with a scholarly output.” Hence, the article about melanoma, was used for citations in various news articles 69 times. Moreover, it was mentioned in 2 online blogs, as well as 25 Tweets on Twitter and 1 Facebook post. FOX23 of Tulsa, Oklahoma has headlined their report on July 20, 2018 as “New blood test could detect skin cancer early”, using the main content of Australia study 
Another Oncotarget’s research with a top score of 476, is “Biomarkers for early diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma: Do we need another moon-shot,”. This publication has appeared in 60 news stories, 1 online blog post and 6 Twitter posts. The majority of public may have seen a short overview only, however those who visit Mikhail (Misha) Blagosklonny at Oncotarget, do get useful scientific facts. Oncotarget is glad to have the ability to share with online customers this highly appreciated and top-quality information, that is trustworthy and reliable.

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