Long-term tobacco exposure and immunosenescence: paradoxical effects on T-cells telomere length and telomerase activity

Immunosenescence are alterations on immune system that occurs throughout an individual life. The main characteristic of this process is replicative senescence, evaluated by telomere shortening. Several factors implicate on telomere shortening, such as smoking. In this study, we evaluated the influence of smoking and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) on cytokines, telomere length and telomerase activity. Blood samples were collected from subjects aged over 60 years old: Healthy (never smokers), Smokers (smoking for over 30 years) and COPDs (ex-smokers for ≥15 years). A young group was included as control. PBMCs were cultured for assessment of telomerase activity using RT-PCR, and cytokines secretion flow cytometry. CD4+ and CD8+ purified lymphocytes were used to assess telomere length using FlowFISH. We observed that COPD patients have accelerated telomere shortening. Paradoxically, smokers without lung damage showed preserved telomere length, suggesting that tobacco smoking may affect regulatory mechanisms, such as telomerase. Telomerase activity showed diminished activity in COPDs, while Smokers showed increased activity compared to COPDs and Healthy groups. Extracellular environment reflected this unbalance, indicated by an anti-inflammatory profile in Smokers, while COPDs showed an inflammatory prone profile. Further studies focusing on telomeric maintenance may unveil mechanisms that are associated with cancer under long-term smoking

Socio-demographic characteristics and quality of life of elderly patients with systemic arterial hypertension who live in rural areas: the importance of nurses' role

OBJECTIVE: To describe the socio-demographic characteristics and quality of life of elderly patients with systemic arterial hypertension; to correlate the quality of life with the time of diagnosis and number of medication, as well as to compare the quality of life with the type of medication. METHOD: In this cross sectional home survey design, 460 elderly people from rural areas were involved. The data was collected with the use of the following instruments: World Health Organization Quality of Life-bref and World Health Organization Quality of Life Olders. A descriptive analysis, Pearson correlation and t-Student test (p<0.05) were undertaken. RESULTS: Predominant patient characteristics were: women between the age of 60 and 70, married, four to eight years of formal education, income of one minimum wage, living with their partners. The time of diagnosis was associated with lower quality of life in the physical domain. Elderly patients who used Inhibitors and Angiotensin Converting Enzyme and who did not use AT1 blocker had lower scores in relation to functioning of the senses. Those who used calcium channel blocker scored higher in relation to autonomy. CONCLUSION: there is a need for actions to control systemic arterial hypertension and its associated complications, with the purpose of improving quality of life