Trends in drug repurposing: Advancing cardiovascular disease management in geriatric populations

Drug repurposing is a promising strategy for managing cardiovascular disease (CVD) in geriatric populations, offering efficient and cost-effective solutions. CVDs are prevalent across all age groups, with a significant increase in prevalence among geriatric populations. The middle-age period (40-65 years) is critical due to factors like obesity, sedentary lifestyle, and psychosocial stress. In individuals aged 65 and older, the incidence of CVDs is highest due to age-related physiological changes and prolonged exposure to risk factors. In this review we find that certain drugs, such as non-cardiovascular drugs like anakinra, probenecid, N-acetyl cysteine, quercetin, resveratrol, rapamycin, colchicine, bisphosphonates, hydroxychloroquine, SGLT-2i drugs, GLP-1Ras drugs and sildenafil are recommended for drug repurposing to achieve cardiovascular benefits in geriatric patients. However, agents such as canakinumab, methotrexate, ivermectin, erythromycin, capecitabine, carglumic acid, chloroquine, and furosemide are constrained in their therapeutic use and warrant meticulous consideration, rendering them less favorable for this specific application. This review emphasizes the importance of exploring alternative therapeutic strategies to improve outcomes in geriatric populations and suggests drug repurposing as a promising avenue to enhance treatment efficacy.