Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatryOct 23, 2026

Cell aging in normal ageing and brain diseases: causes, signs, and possible treatments

Longevity & Aging Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Oct 24, 2026

Abstract

Cellular senescence is increasingly associated with neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

Cellular senescence may link age-related cellular damage to mitochondrial dysfunction and chronic inflammation.
Senescence-associated features could play a role in the progression of neurodegenerative diseases.
Different central nervous system cell types, including neurons and microglia, may exhibit varying senescence-related changes.
Biomarkers for identifying cellular senescence in the central nervous system are discussed, but suitable options are limited.
Senotherapeutic treatments have shown promise in addressing senescence in various CNS cells, though challenges remain for clinical implementation.

Simplified

Cellular senescence has been increasingly associated with neurodegenerative disorders, potentially linking ageing-related cellular impairment with mitochondrial dysfunction, chronic inflammation, and disrupted intercellular signalling. The present study aims to explore the increasing relevance of cellular senescence among key cell types, including neurons, astrocytes, neural progenitor cells, microglia and oligodendrocyte-lineage cells across neurodegenerative ailments such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and multiple sclerosis. This review discusses the findings of pre-clinical and clinical studies which suggest that senescence-associated features may contribute to neurodegeneration. Further, it provides an overview of the biomarkers used in the identification of senescence in the CNS. Also, the review examines senotherapeutic treatment approaches, highlighting their actions on different CNS cell types and the growing clinical evidence. It also points out the challenges in translating these approaches to clinical application, such as targeting specific cell types and the lack of suitable biomarkers. Collectively, present findings suggest that senescence-associated alterations may contribute to neurodegeneration, although their effects appear to vary across cell types and diseases.

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Cell aging in normal ageing and brain diseases: causes, signs, and possible treatments

Abstract

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