What is the Origin of Senotherapeutics?

The term is a descriptive synthesis of senescence (the biological process of aging) and therapeutics (the branch of medicine concerned with treating disease), originating from the specialized field of geroscience. This research discipline focuses on understanding and modulating the fundamental biological mechanisms of aging as the primary driver of most chronic diseases.

What is the Mechanism of Senotherapeutics?

Senolytics primarily operate by selectively triggering programmed cell death (apoptosis) specifically in senescent cells, thereby physically removing their chronic pathological burden from vital tissues and organs. Senomorphics, in contrast, function by modulating the Senescence-Associated Secretory Phenotype (SASP), significantly reducing the secretion of damaging inflammatory cytokines and matrix metalloproteinases that disrupt the local tissue microenvironment and impair normal hormonal signaling.

Senotherapeutics ∞ Area

Senotherapeutics

Meaning

Senotherapeutics is an innovative and emerging class of therapeutic agents specifically designed to target and either eliminate senescent cells, often colloquially termed “zombie cells,” or inhibit the pathological, pro-inflammatory factors they secrete. These compounds are categorized as senolytics, which induce cell death, or senomorphics, which modulate their harmful secretions. The overarching goal of this intervention is to mitigate systemic age-related physiological decline and extend the healthy lifespan by clearing these dysfunctional cells that accumulate with chronological aging.