The DOI matches its Crossref record; 395 of the 395 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The quest to slow ageing through drug discovery
Open accessAbstract
Although death is inevitable, individuals have long sought to alter the course of the ageing process. Indeed, ageing has proved to be modifiable; by intervening in biological systems, such as nutrient sensing, cellular senescence, the systemic environment and the gut microbiome, phenotypes of ageing can be slowed sufficiently to mitigate age-related functional decline. These interventions can also delay the onset of many disabling, chronic diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease and neurodegeneration, in animal models. Here, we examine the most promising interventions to slow ageing and group them into two tiers based on the robustness of the preclinical, and some clinical, results, in which the top tier includes rapamycin, senolytics, metformin, acarbose, spermidine, NAD+ enhancers and lithium. We then focus on the potential of the interventions and the feasibility of conducting clinical trials with these agents, with the overall aim of maintaining health for longer before the end of life.
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“Indeed, attenuation of age-related inflammation has emerged as a common mechanism by which (pharmacological) interventions into ageing exert their beneficial effects4.”
From cGAS–STING drives ageing-related inflammation and neurodegeneration (2023) · cites this paper as [4]
In the citing paper
“Rapamycin and rapalogs, which disrupt the MTORC1 complex, have proved to extend lifespan in model organisms even with treatment starting late in adulthood 137 .”
From Hallmarks of aging: An expanding universe (2023) · cites this paper as [137]
In the citing paper
“Recently, it has been proven that drug intervention can slow down the aging phenotype to alleviate age-related functional decline [176].”
From Immunosenescence: a key player in cancer development (2020) · cites this paper as [176]
In the citing paper
“Several mTOR-targeting drugs, including different rapalogs, have been developed to perturb cancer cell metabolism but are also being explored as part of geroprotective strategies.224,226”
From Meta-hallmarks of aging and cancer (2023) · cites this paper as [226]
In the citing paper
“Three senolytics in current AD trials are metformin, rapamycin, and dasatinib plus quercetin; these therapies have shown benefit in non‐clinical models of aging and AD. 39 , 40 , 41”
From Alzheimer’s disease drug development pipeline: 2021 (2021) · cites this paper as [41]
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
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Metadata
- Authors
- Partridge, L., Fuentealba, M., & Kennedy, B. K.
- Affiliations
- Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing (DE)
- Agency for Science, Technology and Research (SG)
- Corresponding author
- Partridge, Linda
- Kennedy, Brian K.
- Venue
- Nature Reviews Drug Discovery
- Published
- 2020-05-28
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 513-532
- ISSN
- 1474-1776 (ISSN-L)
- 1474-1784
- OpenAlex
- W3029220716
- Cited by
- 468
- References
- 395
- Citations by year
- 2026: 46 · 2025: 76 · 2024: 93 · 2023: 80 · 2022: 90 · 2021: 62 · 2020: 21
- FWCI
- 8.07
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- hdl.handle.net
- Licence
- Locations
- Nature Reviews Drug Discovery (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Wellcome Trust (098565/Z/12/Z)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Aging › Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Geriatrics and Gerontology › Sirtuins and Resveratrol in Medicine
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Telomeres, Telomerase, and Senescence
- Keywords
- aging, anti-aging interventions, healthspan, rapamycin, senolytics, metformin, acarbose, spermidine, lithium, nutrient sensing, cellular senescence, gut microbiota, age-related diseases, clinical trials, drug discovery
- MeSH terms
- Aging, Animals, Humans, Drug Discovery
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