Advances in Biogerontology: Redox Signaling in Wound Healing in Elderly Populations: Theoretical Basis, Part 1

Since the age of the caveman, when humans began tending to their wounds, the science of wound healing has been a fascinating journey. Sushruta, Hippocrates, and Celsus are credited with developing a systematic treatise on wound care and surgery, which replaced mystical incantations, potions, and ointments in the history of wound care. The medical, social, and economic costs associated with nonhealing wounds are rising, along with the number and percentage of elderly individuals in wealthy countries. Understanding the mechanisms causing age-related impairments in wound healing is becoming more crucial.

This book will deal with wounds in different types such as diabetic, ischemic, post-operational, and locations in subcellular and macro dimensions, examining their relationship with aging and aiming to target deteriorating redox signaling cascades. It will also focus on promising therapeutic approaches. Understanding the indication for new therapeutics targeting the illuminated pathways in wound healing will help adjust treatment regimens befitting modern medicine. Ineffective redox adaptation and disseminated oxidative injury are the hallmarks of continuing oxidative stress. However, oxidative stress cannot be described as the imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation and antioxidant defense capacity; it also covers impairment in redox sensing and signaling pathways. The term oxidative stress is an expression losing its use in modern redox biology. It is now an accepted fact that ROS cannot be described as an apparent enemy or friend. Its optimum level modulates signal transduction and stress responses by acting as a second messenger for redox-sensitive cascades. Redox-dependent second messengers are generated in subcellular locations according to specific rules and regulations. Their appearance depends on cellular needs in response to external and internal stimuli variations. A comprehensive understanding of the wound healing cascades, which deteriorate especially in advancing ages, is critical in developing the most appropriate approach. To understand the redox signaling mechanisms and healing cascades in wound healing, to pioneer new pharmacoactive drugs that can be developed based on these mechanisms, to reveal the deteriorating dynamics in the elderly patient group, and to propose new treatment methods suitable for the advanced age group.