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The history of research into the basic mechanisms of the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease
(AD) is briefly considered. Concepts are analyzed in which a decisive role in the development of
this disease was attributed to aluminum or free radicals. The lack of reliable data to date to
support these concepts is emphasized. The point of view of the author is presented, according to
which almost all the results indicating the feasibility of using antioxidants (as well as other
potential drugs for AD) for the prevention and treatment of AD were obtained on model animals with certain pathologies (for example, with severe oxidative stress), which contribute to the
formation of symptoms similar to those of AD in humans. In this regard, parallels are drawn with
experimental gerontological research aimed at studying the effect of a calorie-restricted diet on
aging and life span. It is noted that in these studies, animals were used that were either not
completely normal or were in unfavorable conditions. According to the author, the lack of
significant progress in the development of effective geroprotectors or drugs for the prevention/
treatment of AD is due to the fact that most specialists ignore the principles of classical
gerontology, in particular, the definitions of aging and age-related diseases, as well as the correct
approaches to the selection of control objects for their studies. It is emphasized that humans,
unfortunately, cannot use the freshwater hydra method to combat aging and age-related
diseases. Under certain conditions, it continuously renews all cells (including nerve ones) of its
body and thereby ensures its "immortality." In humans, the replacement of "old" neurons can
lead to the loss of personality/individuality, and the "repair" of these cells today seems
impossible. In this regard, the author considers it expedient to study the aging of postmitotic
cells in experiments on stationary cell cultures, which can accelerate, in particular, the
deciphering of the mechanisms of accumulation of beta-amyloid and senile pigments such as
lipofuscin in neurons. The need for clinical studies of AD is noted as complementary to
experimental work, although the first ones are much more expensive and time-consuming. Only
confirmation in human studies of the effectiveness of drugs developed in experiments on model
animals will allow them to be recommended for use in the clinical practice.

The history of the creation of the course of lectures "Basics of the Biology of Aging" at the School of Biology of Lomonosov Moscow State University, as well as at the Department of Life Science and Engineering of Harbin Institute of Technology is brie y described. In the process of teaching this course, the author got the impression that its main provisions may also be of interest to students of non-biological specialties, who have recently been quite often involved in the work on the implementation of gerontological grants. This is largely determined, apparently, by the signi cantly increased funding for this kind of research in recent years. In turn, this is a consequence of the fact that the average life span of people in developed countries has increased dramatically over the past decades. However, the maximum life span has not changed much (it is now the same as it was thousands of years ago, it is just that the chances of living to the age of a centenarian have become much greater). If earlier people often died at an early age from various diseases not related to age (mainly infectious diseases), now, due to signi cant advances in medicine, most people live to old age. As a result, death "from aging" is becoming more common. At the same time, many people have a very vague idea of what aging is, what are its mechanisms and how to ght it. In this regard, in 2022, an interschool elective course of lectures was organized at MSU for students of any departments of the university, except for the School of Biology itself. It is called "Basics of the biology of aging, or everything you wanted to know about aging (but were afraid to ask)." The material of the lectures was specially adapted for students who are not biologists by their main specialty. The main emphasis in the course, consisting of 12 lectures, is made on the fundamental de nitions and methodical/methodological approaches used in gerontology. The article lists the questions submitted for the students' test and brie y analyzes its results.

The author's point of view is presented, according to which, formulated back in the 80s of the last century by Yu.M. Lopukhin et al., the cholesterol theory of aging and death is now often misunderstood by many biologists and physicians. It is emphasized that this theory prioritized not the well-known role of cholesterol (CS) in metabolic processes, but its structural role in the plasma membrane of the cell. It was assumed that an increase in the microviscosity of the cell membrane due to the accumulation of CS in it leads to a deterioration in the transfer of external signals and nutrients to the cell, as well as to a decrease in the activity of membrane enzymes. This, according to the authors, triggers the occurrence of "senile" changes in cells, tissues and organs, and then in the entire multicellular organism, which ultimately leds to an increase in the probability of its death, that is, to aging. At the same time, the content of CS (mainly, of considered to be especially "bad" CS of low density lipoproteins) in serum was assigned only a minor role, because its increase is not at all necessary, according to the authors of the concept, leads to adverse changes in the body. This paper briefly discusses the evolution of ideas about the possible role of CS in aging and the development of various age-related pathologies, mainly cardiovascular diseases and mental disorders. Experimental data on the effect of liposomes containing both normal and oxidized CS on the proliferative activity of cultured cells are analyzed. The data of longitudinal studies are considered, suggesting that, paradoxically, it is people with elevated levels of CS in the blood plasma who live to an advanced age. At the same time, the consumption of large amounts of food rich in CS may not affect the health of some patients. It is noted that a number of studies indicate the absence of a causal relationship between the level of CS in serum and the occurrence of atherosclerotic changes. It is emphasized that CS is a very important compound for our body, without which cell proliferation and, as a result, normal regeneration are impossible. It is noted that there is a continuously increasing amount of data on the negative role of statins in the formation of age-related pathology, especially in people of older age groups. It is concluded that at present it becomes obvious that there is a need for a significant reappraisal (using the systems approach) of ideas about the possible role of CS in aging, the development of atherosclerosis and other age-related diseases, as well as dementias due to various causes, including Alzheimer's disease.

The search and testing of drugs with senolytic activity is one of the new directions in gerontology. The number of "senescent" cells that increases with age contributes to the development of age-related diseases and chronic non-infectious inflammation. Removing "senescent" cells or suppressing their influence on surrounding tissues seems a logical step to improve the quality of life and, possibly, prolong lifespan. However, drugs that have senolytic and senomorphic activity in model systems cause the development of a number of side effects in clinical trials. In this review, we consider the main advances in the field of senotherapy, the prospects for the use of senotherapy drugs, and the limitations that researchers and clinicians may encounter.