Ageing is linked to changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis and a progressive decline in gonadal function. While women become infertile when they enter menopause, fertility decline in ageing men does not necessarily involve a complete cessation of spermatogenesis. Gonadal dysfunction in elderly people is characterized by morphological, endocrine and metabolic alterations affecting the reproductive function and quality of life. With advancing age, sexuality turns into a critical emotional and physical factor actually defining the number of years that ageing people live a healthy life.

Gonadal ageing correlates with comorbidities and an increased risk of age-related diseases including diabetes, kidney problems, cardiovascular failures and cancer.

This article briefly summarizes the current state of knowledge on ovarian and testicular senescence, explores the experimental models used in the study of gonadal ageing, and describes the local pro-inflammatory, oxidative and apoptotic events and the associated signalling pathways that take place in the gonads while people get older.

Overall, literature reports that ageing exacerbates a mutual crosstalk among oxidative stress, apoptosis and the inflammatory response in the gonads leading to detrimental effects on fertility. Data also highlight the clinical implications of novel therapeutic interventions using antioxidant, anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory drugs on health span and life span.

衰老与下丘脑-垂体-性腺轴的变化和性腺功能的进行性下降有关。虽然女性进入更年期后会变得不育，但老年男性的生育能力下降并不一定意味着精子发生的完全停止。老年人性腺功能障碍的特点是形态、内分泌和代谢改变，影响生殖功能和生活质量。随着年龄的增长，性成为一个关键的情感和身体因素，实际上决定了老年人过上健康生活的年数。

性腺老化与合并症和年龄相关疾病的风险增加有关，包括糖尿病、肾脏问题、心血管衰竭和癌症。

本文简要总结了目前关于卵巢和睾丸衰老的知识状况，探讨了性腺衰老研究中使用的实验模型，并描述了性腺中发生的局部促炎、氧化和凋亡事件以及相关的信号通路当人们变老时。

总体而言，文献报道衰老加剧了氧化应激、细胞凋亡和性腺炎症反应之间的相互影响，从而对生育能力产生不利影响。数据还强调了使用抗氧化、抗凋亡和抗炎药物的新型治疗干预对健康和寿命的临床意义。