Chapters authored
Chronotherapy Advances in the Management of Chronic Neurological and Cardiovascular Diseases: Complex Interactions of Circadian Rhythm Environmental Inputs, Nutrition and Drug Administration and Their Impact on Human Health
New scientific evidence raises awareness concerning the human-specific interplay among primary environmental conditions, such as the light–dark cycle, activity–rest alternation, nutritional patterns, and their reflection on the physiological and pathological characteristics that are displayed uniquely by every individual. One of the critical aspects in the clinic is to understand the role of circadian rhythms as remarkable modulators of the biological effects of drugs and to aim for an optimal overlapping of the time of administration of medicines with the physiologic release of certain hormones, the time-dependent expression of genes, or the key-regulatory protein synthesis, which are all circadian-driven processes. The pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics profiles, as well as the possible drug interactions of neurotropic and cardiovascular agents, are intensely subjected to endogenous circadian rhythms, being essential to identify as much as possible the patients’ multiple risk factors, from age and gender to lifestyle elements imprinted by dietary features, sleep patterns, psychological stress, all the way to various other associated pathological conditions and their own genetic and epigenetic background. This review chapter will highlight the involvement of biological rhythms in physiologic processes and their impact on various pathological mechanisms, and will focus on the nutritional impact on the circadian homeostasis of the organism and neurologic and cardiovascular chronotherapy.
Part of the book: Circadian Rhythm