Saturday, March 31, 2018

New research says circadian rhythm of genes in brain changes with aging

circadian rhythm of genes in brain changes with aging

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine discovered that a 24-hour circadian rhythm controls almost all brain and body processes, such as the sleep/wake cycle, metabolism, alertness and cognition.

According to Wikipedia, Circadian Rhythm is any biological process that displays an endogenous, entrainable oscillation of about 24 hours. These 24-hour rhythms are driven by a circadian clock, and they have been widely observed in plants, animals, fungi, and cyanobacteria.

The first-of-its-kind study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also suggest that a novel biological clock begins ticking only in the older brain.

"Studies have reported that older adults tend to perform complex cognitive tasks better in the morning and get worse through the day,"

"We know also that the circadian rhythm changes with aging, leading to awakening earlier in the morning, fewer hours of sleep and less robust body temperature rhythms.” said Colleen McClung, Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry, Pitt School of Medicine.

Etienne Sibille, PhD, senior co-investigator and Campbell Family Chair in Clinical Neuroscience at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health at the University of Toronto - had also previously shown that gene changes or "molecular aging" occurs in the brain.


The researchers analyzed thousands of genes from brain samples of 146 people with no history of mental health or neurological problems whose families had donated their remains for medical research and for whom the time of death was known.

The brains were categorized depending on whether they had come from a person younger than 40 or older than 60. Next, they analyzed two tissue samples from the prefrontal cortex for rhythmic activity, or expression, of thousands of genes by using a newly developed statistical technique.

They used information about the time of death and identified 235 core genes that make up the molecular clock in this part of the brain.

The team discovered that the daily rhythm in all the classic “clock” genes were present in younger people. Older people however, seemed to have lost rhythm in many of these genes.

"As we expected, younger people had that daily rhythm in all the classic 'clock' genes," said Dr. McClung.

"But there was a loss of rhythm in many of these genes in older people, which might explain some of the alterations that occur in sleep, cognition and mood in later life."

The team was surprised to find a set of genes that gained rhythmicity in older individuals.

The findings could be helpful in developing treatments for cognitive impairment and sleep problems that may occur with aging, as well as a possible treatment for "sundowning," a condition which makes older people with dementia become agitated and confused in the evening.

Dr. Sibille explained the usefulness of the findings, saying:
"Since depression is associated with accelerated molecular aging, and with disruptions in daily routines, these results also may shed light on molecular changes occurring in adults with depression."

For further studies, the team is planning to explore the function of the brain's circadian-rhythm genes in lab and animal models. They also find out whether these circadian-rhythm genes altered in people with psychiatric or neurological illnesses,

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