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Updated: Jun 15, 2026

Drug-Induced Senescence in Liver Cells Promotes M2 Macrophage Polarization: Implications for Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor-Associated Hepatotoxicity
Published on: October 17, 2025
Gastrointestinal and liver side effects of drugs in elderly patients
Konstantinos Triantafyllou1, Jiannis Vlachogiannakos, Spiros D Ladas
1Hepatogastroenterology Unit, 2nd Department of Internal Medicine - Propaedeutic, Attikon University General Hospital, Medical School, Athens University, Chaidari, Greece.
Abstract:
It is expected that the percentage of people >60 years of age will be 22% worldwide by the year 2050. Multi-morbidity and poly-pharmacy are common in individuals during old age, while adverse drug reactions are at least twice as common in the elderly compared to younger adults. Publications related to drug side effects are rather rare in this age group since most clinical trials exclude patients >75-80 years of age. Gastrointestinal adverse drug reactions studied in the elderly include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and anticoagulant-induced gastrointestinal tract mucosal injuries. Malabsorption, diarrhoea and constipation are common side effects of laxatives, antibiotics, anticholinergics and calcium channel blockers. Drug (amoxycilin/clavulanic acid, isoniazide, nitrofurantoin, diclifenac and methotrexate)-induced hepatotoxicity in the elderly is four times more common than in younger adults and may simulate almost all known liver disorders. Further clinical studies are needed to investigate gastrointestinal and hepatic side effects of drugs in elderly patients.
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