Senotherapeutics: Milestones, innovations, and future prospects.

Abstract

Gerontological practice has evolved over the decades in response to various diseases, comorbidities, and demographic factors. The many subfields that have emerged from our advancement include the study of biomedical gerontology. Geropharmacology, which began to be recognized as a distinct subfield in the latter part of the 20th century, is the study of how the elderly population responds to pharmaceutical interventions, considering the effects, interactions, and side effects, along with appropriate dosages and routes. In the past, aging has generally received negative coverage. "Everyone wants to live longer, but no one wants to grow old." It is feared that old age will be rustier than gold. In recent decades, the importance of geropharmacology has increased due to the challenges we face in managing the elderly groups, alongside the growing elderly population, since these groups have altered pharmacokinetics and a higher number of comorbidities. Gerotherapeutics are pharmacological agents that can impede or decrease the rate of aging-related degenerative processes and extend lifespans by repairing damage or modulating stress resistance. Current research in the field of geropharmacology not only investigates the effects of existing conventional pharmacologic agents such as quercetin, rapamycin, aspirin, cardiac glycosides, metformin, and JAK inhibitors on the elderly population but also includes the development of new promising gerotherapeutics. AI-assisted senotherapeutic drug discovery is a continuing task in geropharmacology. No candidate drug with senescent cell targeting has yet been widely clinically tested since the senotherapeutic approach has many limitations in geriatric practice. Senescence, also, is a physiological process that continues throughout the lifespan and should not be viewed as only an effect of aging. Senescent cells found in different organs show heterogeneous phenotypes. Induction of senescence is initially a protective response that prevents older, damaged, or cancerous cells from replicating and causing further harm to the tissues. When discussing senotherapeutic medicines and their potential application in clinical practice, it is important to consider their nonspecific action on senescent cells, which may potentially aid in cancer prevention and stimulate processes related to wound healing.