Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 21, Issue 24, 2015

The circadian clock is a biological system that allows organisms to adapt to temporal constraints of the environment. It governs all body functions. The circadian clock has an endogenous period and entrains to the external day by the means of timing cues, also called “zeitgebers”. A discrepancy between internal and external day or internal day and certain body functions results in circadian desynchrony, most promin Read More

A robust circadian timekeeping system is important for human health and well-being. Inappropriately timed light exposure can cause circadian and sleep disruption, which has been shown to have negative health consequences. Lighting in medical care facilities, such as the NICU, ICU, and nursing homes, is not typically controlled and may be associated with circadian disruption observed in such settings. Cycled lighting and i Read More

Purpose: This article reviews our current understanding of the relationships between critical illness, circadian disruption, and delirium. Summary: Delirium is a common and morbid complication of hospitalization, particularly in the setting of critical illness and intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Critical illness involves a host of acute metabolic, hormonal and inflammatory responses that appear to disrupt normal sleep architectur Read More

The confinement of critically ill patients in intensive care units (ICU) imposes environmental constancy throughout both day and night (continuous light, noise, caring activities medications, etc.), which has a negative impact on human health by inducing a new syndrome known as circadian misalignment, circadian disruption or chronodisruption (CD). This syndrome contributes to poor sleep quality and delirium, and may imp Read More

The earth rotates on its axis around the sun, creating a day and night cycle, that caused the development of circadian rhythms. The circadian rhythm is primarily entrained by light, which is detected by the retina. Retinal ganglion cells project to a part of the hypothalamus termed suprachiasmatic nucleus. Here, we find the master molecular clock, composed of a transcription-translation-loop at its core. The master Read More

The adaptation of species to the environment in which they live is accomplished by so-called “clocks” that allow the biological, physiological, metabolic and behavioral system to correct any development during the day. The alteration of those ‘clocks’ (circadian rhythms) shows a strong relationship with organic disorders such as neurodegenerative diseases. Many studies show that oxidative stress combined with pro-infla Read More

With the current high rates of associated morbidity and mortality, proper management of critical illness is vital in the treatment of severely ill patients. Disruptions of key body systems stemming from these illnesses may be attributed to their severity and limited treatment options. Disruption in circadian rhythms caused by critical illnesses may lead to a decreased patient prognosis, as the biological clocks stemming Read More

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by recurrent episodes of partial (hypopnea) or complete interruption (apnea) in breathing during sleep due to airway collapse in the oral or pharyngeal region. Prospective studies have established the adverse cardiovascular consequences of OSA, including an increased risk for developing hypertension, coronary artery disease, stroke, and heart failure. However, more studies Read More

The cardiovascular system exhibits significant daily rhythms in physiologic processes (heart rate, blood pressure, cardiac contractility and function), and molecular gene and protein expression. An increasing number of clinical and experimental studies demonstrate the circadian system is an important underlying mechanism that coordinates these rhythmic processes for the health of the cardiovascular system. However, what Read More

There exist circadian patterns in the occurrence of sudden cardiac death. The suprachiasmatic nuclei is the ‘master clock’ in mammalian bodies. Furthermore, several circadian genes have been successfully isolated in basic studies and a huge variety of key players form the human circadian rhythm. Obvious circadian patterns are present in the occurrence of critical events, but those characteristics differ greatly according to Read More

Angiogenesis plays an important role in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction (MI). Formation of micro-vessels has the potential to prevent apoptosis of the ischemic myocardium and to improve cardiac function after MI. Delivery of growth factors or administration of stem/progenitor cells (mainly from bone marrow) are the dominant therapies to induce angiogenesis after MI. Nevertheless, clinical trials have shown th Read More

The phospholipid derivative lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) serves as a signalling molecule through the activation of LPA receptors, which belong to the G-protein-coupled receptors. From a pharmacological point of view, the (‘EDG-like’) LPA1-3 receptors have attracted much attention, therefore we have also been focusing in our study on these subtypes. The LPA1receptors are widely expressed in the human body; interestingly, LPA1 Read More

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is one of the main endogenous pro-angiogenic cytokines. Inhibition of the VEGF signaling pathways is an effective treatment for cancer patients. In addition, local anti- VEGF therapy was developed and established to treat proliferative diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration and retinal vein occlusion. For systemic administration of anti-VEGF drugs, serious side e Read More

Background: Alcoholism affects bone repair and this study evaluated the recombinant human BMP-2 (rhBMP-2)/collagen sponge association aiming to improve the bone healing process. The aim of this study was to investigate the action of alcoholism and its effect on the repair of bone defects (BD) performed on rat calvaria after the application of rhBMP-2, either pure or combined with a collagen matrix, using radiographic, hist Read More