Ageing – From pathophysiology to therapeutics. A review

The human ageing process has been studied in multiple perspectives, and the scientific advances prolonging life expectancy resulted as quite remarkable. Over the years, changes occur in human body, and we become more susceptible to develop diseases, eventually anticipating death. The world population is getting old and the co-morbidities are increasing in the elderly, limiting their quality of life. Several theories were developed to explain why we grow old, such as the free radicals and the neuro-endocrine theories. The main consequence of the ageing process seems to be the homeostasis modifications, resulting from neuro-endocrine disregulation, impacting all human body systems. This review intends to resume the most recent concepts and finding on ageing pathophysiology, including pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamical changes, that justify a special care when dealing with the elderly therapeutics