Therapeutic Approaches to Aging-Reply

Antiaging Therapies, Cognitive Impairment, and Dementia

Aging is a powerful risk factor for the development of many chronic diseases including dementia. Research based on disease models of dementia have yet to yield effective treatments, therefore it is opportune to consider whether the aging process itself might be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment and prevention of dementia. Numerous cellular and molecular pathways have been implicated in the aging process and compounds that target these processes are being developed to slow aging and delay the onset of age-associated conditions. A few particularly promising therapeutic agents have been shown to influence many of the main hallmarks of aging and increase life span in rodents. Here we discuss the evidence that some of these antiaging compounds may beneficially affect brain aging and thereby lower the risk for dementia.

The role of cellular senescence in ageing and endocrine disease

With the ageing of the global population, interest is growing in the 'geroscience hypothesis', which posits that manipulation of fundamental ageing mechanisms will delay (in parallel) the appearance or severity of multiple chronic, non-communicable diseases, as these diseases share the same underlying risk factor - namely, ageing. In this context, cellular senescence has received considerable attention as a potential target in preventing or treating multiple age-related diseases and increasing healthspan. Here we review mechanisms of cellular senescence and approaches to target this pathway therapeutically using 'senolytic' drugs that kill senescent cells or inhibitors of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). Furthermore, we highlight the evidence that cellular senescence has a causative role in multiple diseases associated with ageing. Finally, we focus on the role of cellular senescence in a number of endocrine diseases, including osteoporosis, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus, as well as other endocrine conditions. Although much remains to be done, considerable preclinical evidence is now leading to the initiation of proof-of-concept clinical trials using senolytics for several endocrine and non-endocrine diseases.

Early Vascular Ageing and Cellular Senescence in Chronic Kidney Disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a clinical model of premature ageing characterized by progressive vascular disease, systemic inflammation, muscle wasting and frailty. The predominant early vascular ageing (EVA) process mediated by medial vascular calcification (VC) results in a marked discrepancy between chronological and biological vascular age in CKD. Though the exact underlying mechanisms of VC and EVA are not fully elucidated, accumulating evidence indicates that cellular senescence - and subsequent chronic inflammation through the senescence-associated secretary phenotype (SASP) - plays a fundamental role in its initiation and progression. In this review, we discuss the pathophysiological links between senescence and the EVA process in CKD, with focus on cellular senescence and media VC, and potential anti-ageing therapeutic strategies of senolytic drugs targeting cellular senescence and EVA in CKD.