Mitochondria are complex, intercellular organelles present in the cells and are involved in multiple roles including ATP formation, free radicals generation and scavenging, calcium homeostasis, cellular differentiation, and cell death. Many studies depicted the involvement of mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative damage in aging and pathogenesis of age-related metabolic disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. Remarkable advancements have been made in understanding the structure, function, and physiology of mitochondria in metabolic disorders such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and stroke. Further, much progress has been done in the improvement of therapeutic strategies, including lifestyle interventions, pharmacological, and mitochondria-targeted therapeutic approaches. These strategies were mainly focused to reduce the mitochondrial dysfunction caused by oxidative stress and to retain the mitochondrial health in various diseases. In this chapter, we have highlighted the involvement of mitochondrial dysfunction in the pathophysiology of various disorders and recent progress in the development of mitochondria-targeted molecules as therapeutic measures for metabolic disorders.
Keywords: Age-related metabolic disorders; Cardiovascular disease; Metabolic syndrome; Mitochondria; Mitochondria-targeted antioxidants; Mitochondrial dysfunction; Obesity; Oxidative stress; Reactive oxygen species; Type 2 diabetes mellitus.
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