Aging is a major risk factor for numerous human pathologies, including cardiovascular, metabolic, musculoskeletal, and neurodegenerative conditions and various malignancies. While our understanding of aging is far from complete, recent advances suggest that targeting fundamental aging processes can delay, prevent, or alleviate age-related disorders. Cellular senescence is physiologically beneficial in several contexts, but it has causal roles in multiple chronic diseases. New studies have illustrated the promising feasibility and safety to selectively ablate senescent cells from tissues, a therapeutic modality that holds potential for treating multiple chronic pathologies and extending human healthspan. Here, we review molecular links between cellular senescence and age-associated complications and highlight novel therapeutic avenues that may be exploited to target senescent cells in future geriatric medicine.

衰老是许多人类疾病的主要危险因素，包括心血管、代谢、肌肉骨骼、神经退行性疾病和各种恶性肿瘤。虽然我们对衰老的理解还远未完成，但最近的进展表明，针对基本的衰老过程可以延缓、预防或减轻与年龄相关的疾病。细胞衰老在多种情况下在生理上是有益的，但它在多种慢性疾病中也有因果作用。新的研究表明，选择性地去除组织中的衰老细胞具有良好的可行性和安全性，这种治疗方式具有治疗多种慢性疾病和延长人类健康寿命的潜力。在这里，我们回顾了细胞衰老和年龄相关并发症之间的分子联系，并强调了未来老年医学中可能用于靶向衰老细胞的新治疗途径。