The impact of neuroeducational methods on depression level and telomere lenght

Abstract

Background Telomeres and telomerase are basic molecular features of cells genetic senescence, that also contributes to various diseases. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of neuroeducational methods on the level of depression and telomere length shortening. Methods The study data summarizes the findings on telomere length of neuroeducational group (20hours sesions /month) (n=10) and controls (n=10) at baseline and after 6 month post-intervention. HT-Q-FISH (LifeLenght, Spain) was used to measure the median telomere length (TL). Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to evaluate the patient’s tendency to depression. Results In neuroeducational group individuals, median TL over the 6 months period decreased 100 ± 27 base pares (bp) - from 10480bp to 10380bp, whereas subjects in the control group lost 420±80bp telomeres - from 10920bp to 10500bp. The subjects of control group lost telomeres statistically significantly (p=0.02). The median of HADS depression scores of the experimental group was 4 before the study and after the study 1.5. The change of the sum of scores over six months was statistically significant (p0.05) Conclusion We hypothesize that neuroeducation can impact some biochemical pathways involved coping depression mechanisms and may contribute to an ' 'remain younger"" phenotype.