The Quest for Eternal Youth: Hallmarks of Aging and Rejuvenating Therapeutic Strategies.
Abstract
The impressive achievements made in the last century in extending the lifespan have led to a significant growth rate of elderly individuals in populations across the world and an exponential increase in the incidence of age-related conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus type 2, and neurodegenerative diseases. To date, geroscientists have identified 12 hallmarks of aging (genomic instability, telomere attrition, epigenetic alterations, loss of proteostasis, impaired macroautophagy, mitochondrial dysfunction, impaired nutrient sensing, cellular senescence, stem cell exhaustion, defective intercellular communication, chronic inflammation, and gut dysbiosis), intricately linked among each other, which can be targeted with senolytic or senomorphic drugs, as well as with more aggressive approaches such as cell-based therapies. To date, side effects seriously limit the use of these drugs. However, since rejuvenation is a dream of mankind, future research is expected to improve the tolerability of the available drugs and highlight novel strategies. In the meantime, the medical community, healthcare providers, and society should decide when to start these treatments and how to tailor them individually.
The following analysis is generated by AI and may contain errors. It is separate from the authors’ abstract and is not peer review.
Research summary
The paper discusses the hallmarks of aging and potential therapeutic strategies aimed at rejuvenation, which aligns with the goals of longevity research. It addresses root causes of aging rather than merely treating age-related diseases. However, the impact is limited as it primarily summarizes existing knowledge and suggests future directions without presenting novel experimental data or significant breakthroughs.
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