Therapy using intense light and chronological time can benefit heart

Study shows circadian rhythms critical in circulatory system health

2024-03-14

(Press-News.org) AURORA, Colo. (March 14, 2024) – Managing circadian rhythms through intense light and chronologically timed therapy can help prevent or treat a variety of circulatory system conditions including heart disease, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

The study was published today in Circulation Research, an official journal of the American Heart Association.

“The impact of circadian rhythms on cardiovascular function and disease development is well established,” said the study’s lead author Tobias Eckle, MD, PhD, professor of anesthesiology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. “However, translational preclinical studies targeting the heart's circadian biology are just now emerging and are leading to the development of a novel field of medicine termed circadian medicine.”

The senior author is Professor Tami A. Martino, PhD, distinguished chair in molecular and cardiovascular research at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.

The study reviews current circadian medicine research, focusing on the use of intense light therapy following surgery, utilizing light to treat cardiac injury, exploring how cardiovascular disease can differ between men and women and administering drugs at specific times of day to coincide with the body’s internal clock to speed healing.

It also urges more aggressive use of this therapy in humans, rather than relying on mostly animal models.

“There are literally millions of patients who could benefit from this,” Eckle said. “The treatments are almost all low-risk. Some involve using light boxes and others use drugs that are already on the market.”

Circadian rhythms significantly influence how the cardiovascular system operates. Timing is everything. Blood pressure and heart rates follow distinct patterns, peaking during the day and ebbing at night. When this is disrupted, it leads to worse cardiovascular disease outcomes including myocardial infarction and heart failure.

Light is critical in maintaining the proper balance and functioning of the body. Shift employees who may work night hours then day hours often have worse cardiac outcomes.

Eckle, who has studied circadian rhythm and health for years, said intense light can help heal the body after heart surgery while protecting it from injury during surgery, including reducing the chances of cardiac ischemia.

According to the researchers, when light hits the human eye it is transmitted to the suprachiasmatic nucleus, a structure in the brain’s hypothalamus that regulates most circadian rhythms in the body. Intense light stabilizes the PER2 gene and increases levels of adenosine, which blocks electrical signals in the heart that cause irregular rhythms, making it cardiac protective.

Eckle has used light therapy with patients after surgery and seen positive results including lower levels of troponin, a key protein whose elevation can signal a heart attack or stroke.

Given the mounting evidence that intense light and timed drug treatments are effective, he said, it is time to move forward with more clinical trials.

“Circadian rhythms play a crucial role in cardiovascular health, influencing the timing of onset and severity of cardiovascular events and contributing to the healing process from disease,” Eckle said. “Studies in humans are clearly required. Regarding intense light therapy, chronotherapy and restricted feeding are low-risk strategies that should be tested sooner than later.”

About the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is a world-class medical destination at the forefront of transformative science, medicine, education, and healthcare. The campus encompasses the University of Colorado health professional schools, more than 60 centers and institutes, and two nationally ranked hospitals that treat more than 2 million adult and pediatric patients each year. Innovative, interconnected and highly collaborative, together we deliver life-changing treatments, patient care, professional training, and conduct world-renowned research powered by more than $690 million in research awards. For more information, visit https://www.cuanschutz.edu

END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

UW researchers taught kids to code with cultural research and embroidery machines

2024-03-14

Even in tech-heavy Washington state, the numbers of students with access to computer science classes aren’t higher than national averages: In the 2022-2023 school year, 48% of public high schools offered foundational CS classes and 5% of middle school and high school students took such classes. Those numbers have inched up, but historically marginalized populations are still less likely to attend schools teaching computer science, and certain groups — such as Latinx students and young women — are less likely than their peers to be enrolled in the classes even if the school offers them. To reach a greater diversity of grade-school ...

Association for Psychological Science offers new training opportunities to its members with Instats partnership

2024-03-14

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — The Association for Psychological Science (APS), the leading organization serving psychological researchers, practitioners, teachers, and students from around the world, has announced a new partnership that will expand the training and career development resources available to its members. APS has partnered with Instats, a virtual learning platform offering live and on-demand research training seminars, courses, and workshops. Instats provides its PhD-level programming through its global network of ...

FRYL gene variants linked to a new neurological disorder

2024-03-14

A recent study from the lab of Dr. Hugo J. Bellen, distinguished service professor at Baylor College of Medicine and investigator at the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute (Duncan NRI) links the FRYL gene to a new neurodevelopmental disorder in humans. They used fruit flies to establish that the loss of a functional copy of the FRY-like transcription coactivator (FRYL) gene is the underlying cause of this new disorder in fourteen individuals. The study was published in the American Journal of Human Genetics. FRYL ...

Age and sex associated with patient’s likelihood of antimicrobial resistance

2024-03-14

A person’s age, sex and location are correlated with the chance that they have a bloodstream infection that is resistant to antibiotics, according to a new study published March 14th in PLOS Medicine by Gwenan Knight of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, and colleagues. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), in which infections cannot be treated with antibiotics, is a major global public health threat. Little has been known about how the prevalence of resistance varies with age and sex even though antibiotic usage, changes in immune function, and exposure to high-risk settings are all linked to age and sex. In the new study, researchers analyzed ...

Coronavirus envelope protein is a drug target for new platform for the identification and optimization of peptides against SARS-CoV-2

2024-03-14

Coronavirus envelope protein is a drug target for new platform for the identification and optimization of peptides against SARS-CoV-2 ##### In your coverage, please use this URL to provide access to the freely available paper in PLOS Biology: http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3002522 Article Title: Developing inhibitory peptides against SARS-CoV-2 envelope protein Author Countries: United States Funding: This work was supported by Columbia University Dean’s ...

How fear unfolds inside our brains

2024-03-14

Our nervous systems are naturally wired to sense fear. Whether prompted by the eerie noises we hear alone in the dark or the approaching growl of a threatening animal, our fear response is a survival mechanism that tells us to remain alert and avoid dangerous situations. But if fear arises in the absence of tangible threats, it can be harmful to our well-being. Those who have suffered episodes of severe or life-threatening stress can later experience intense feelings of fear, even during situations that lack a real threat. Experiencing this generalization of fear is psychologically damaging and can result in debilitating long-term mental health conditions ...

A new world of 2D material is opening up

2024-03-14

Materials that are incredibly thin, only a few atoms thick, exhibit unique properties that make them appealing for energy storage, catalysis and water purification. Researchers at Linköping University, Sweden, have now developed a method that enables the synthesis of hundreds of new 2D materials. Their study has been published in the journal Science. Since the discovery of graphene, the field of research in extremely thin materials, so-called 2D materials, has increased exponentially. The reason is that 2D materials have a large surface area in relation to their volume or weight. This ...

Discovered: Cellulose-degrading gut bacteria in the human gut, although at lower levels in industrialized countries

2024-03-14

Previously undescribed human gut bacteria that aid in the digestion of plant cellulose are scarce in urban societies but abundant in ancient and hunter-gatherer microbiomes, according to a new study. The findings provide insight into the poorly understood cellulosome-producing bacteria that inhabit the human gut and their response to modern urban diets and lifestyles. Like all mammals, humans rely on the gut microbiome to digest cellulose – the main component of plant fiber and a common element in diets that include plant-based material. Fermentation of dietary fiber via cellulosome-producing ...

Direct-to-consumer microbiome testing lacks regulation and clinical validity

2024-03-14

In a Policy Forum, Diane Hoffman and colleagues argue that direct-to-consumer (DTC) microbiome tests lack analytical and clinical validity and require more federal regulation to prevent consumer harm. A growing body of research has suggested the potential for improving human health by better understanding the microbiome, leading to the emergence of a global industry selling DTC microbiome services. However, despite its impact on the lifestyle health and wellness market, regulation of the DTC microbiome testing industry has been virtually ignored. According to Hoffman et al., these companies’ claims of having ...

New approach to plastic production, under more sustainable conditions

2024-03-14

Researchers have developed a more sustainable method to do the work required to make plastics that are comparable to widely used low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plastics. They say their method is industrially viable. LDPE is a soft, flexible, and lightweight plastic material that is widely used in a variety of commercial applications, including plastic films, bottles and other pliable products. LDPE’s unique properties are derived from its tree-branch-like molecular structure, bestowing flexibility. The material is also ductile due to its lower crystallinity. These properties set it apart from other, more linear varieties of polyethylene. ...

Therapy using intense light and chronological time can benefit heart

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: