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Figure 2. The twelve hallmarks of aging as convergence points linking neurodegeneration and metabolic disorders. The established hallmarks of aging are depicted as interconnected processes surrounding the central aging framework, with neurodegeneration represented by the brain illustration (top) and metabolic disorders represented by the human silhouette showing metabolic dysfunction (bottom). The hallmarks are color-coded by mechanistic category: blue indicates primary damage-accumulating hallmarks (genome instability, telomere attrition, epigenetic alterations, loss of proteostasis, disabled macroautophagy); orange represents antagonistic hallmarks that arise as compensatory responses but become detrimental over time (deregulated nutrient sensing, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence); and red/purple denotes integrative hallmarks reflecting systemic consequences of aging (stem cell exhaustion, altered intercellular communication, chronic inflammation, dysbiosis). Dotted lines illustrate the interconnected nature of these processes, while bidirectional arrows emphasize the reciprocal relationship between neurodegeneration and metabolic dysfunction. This framework demonstrates how aging-related mechanisms simultaneously drive pathology in both domains through overlapping molecular pathways, supporting therapeutic strategies targeting shared aging processes [Created in BioRender. YILMAZ Y. (2025) https://BioRender.com/41ww4cq].