XML Feed for RxPG News   Add RxPG News Headlines to My Yahoo!   Javascript Syndication for RxPG News

Research Health World General
 
  Home
 
 Latest Research
 Cancer
 Psychiatry
  Depression
  Neuropsychiatry
  Personality Disorders
  Bulimia
  Anxiety
  Substance Abuse
  Suicide
  CFS
  Psychoses
  Child Psychiatry
  Learning-Disabilities
  Psychology
  Forensic Psychiatry
  Mood Disorders
  Sleep Disorders
   Circardian Rhythm
  Peri-Natal Psychiatry
  Psychotherapy
  Anorexia Nervosa
 Genetics
 Surgery
 Aging
 Ophthalmology
 Gynaecology
 Neurosciences
 Pharmacology
 Cardiology
 Obstetrics
 Infectious Diseases
 Respiratory Medicine
 Pathology
 Endocrinology
 Immunology
 Nephrology
 Gastroenterology
 Biotechnology
 Radiology
 Dermatology
 Microbiology
 Haematology
 Dental
 ENT
 Environment
 Embryology
 Orthopedics
 Metabolism
 Anaethesia
 Paediatrics
 Public Health
 Urology
 Musculoskeletal
 Clinical Trials
 Physiology
 Biochemistry
 Cytology
 Traumatology
 Rheumatology
 
 Medical News
 Health
 Opinion
 Healthcare
 Professionals
 Launch
 Awards & Prizes
 
 Careers
 Medical
 Nursing
 Dental
 
 Special Topics
 Euthanasia
 Ethics
 Evolution
 Odd Medical News
 Feature
 
 World News
 Tsunami
 Epidemics
 Climate
 Business
Search

Last Updated: Aug 19th, 2006 - 22:18:38

Sleep Disorders Channel
subscribe to Sleep Disorders newsletter

Latest Research : Psychiatry : Sleep Disorders

   DISCUSS   |   EMAIL   |   PRINT
New sleep gene discovery wakes up scientists
Jul 4, 2006, 21:51, Reviewed by: Dr. Ankush Vidyarthi

"The theory was that the mutation caused (more of the PERIOD protein) so you get a short day so you want to get up very early in the morning"

 
Proteins that regulate sleep and biological timing in the body work much differently than previously thought, meaning drug makers must change their approach to making drugs for sleep disorders and depression and other timing-related illnesses.

The surprise finding is an about-face from previous research, said Daniel Forger, assistant professor of math at the University of Michigan. Forger and his collaborators from the University of Utah's Huntsman Cancer Institute have written a paper on the topic, which will appear on in the July 11 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

Scientists studied two proteins (one called CKIe and another called PERIOD) that help regulate timing in the body, and looked at how those proteins function in cells, said Forger. One of the proteins causes the other protein to degrade, and the body knows what time it is by how much or how little PERIOD protein is present at any one time in the body. The body's clock is called a circadian rhythm.

Drug makers spend billions to develop drugs to help people with sleep disorders, and other disorders impacted by our biological clocks. Drugs to restore a healthy circadian rhythm by manipulating the levels of PERIOD proteins are currently under development.

One such sleep disorder is called Familial Advanced Sleep Phase Syndrome and this is caused by a gene mutation, Forger said. Patients suffering from the disease routinely wake very early, say at 4 a.m. and must go to bed early, at say 7 p.m. said Forger.

If put in a cave with no light, these people should have a shortened day, Forger said. This means that on our time, they would wake the first day at say, 6 a.m. then at 4 a.m. then at 2 a.m. on subsequent days.

"When they have light and dark cycles in the normal world, they pretty much have to live in a 24-hour day," Forger said. "They were able to adjust but the price they have to pay is their body wakes up early, and they have to go to bed earlier than we do."

"The theory was that the mutation caused (more of the PERIOD protein) so you get a short day so you want to get up very early in the morning," Forger said. But, during testing they found the opposite is true: the mutation actually caused the PERIOD to degrade more quickly so that less is present in the body.

The finding wasn't a complete surprise to Forger, who develops math models of the circadian rhythms. Forger's computer models always said that the opposite of the prevailing thinking should be true---that the PERIOD protein should degrade more quickly when the mutation is present.

"I had this prediction for a year or two," Forger said. "Basically, people said this is ridiculous, you're a mathematician, what do you know�"

Then he met David Virshup, M.D., while giving an invited talk at the University of Utah. Virshup's previous research was on the gene involved in circadian rhythms and its role in cancer development. Their experiments had also suggested that genetic mutation caused the protein to degrade more quickly. Virshup suggested they test Forger's simulation.

The researchers took cell cultures and observed that for those with the mutated gene, the protein only took a couple hours to degrade. For the normal gene, it took 8-10 hours.

Next, Virshup said, his team will begin testing ways to regulate the circadian rhythm in mice, a necessary step before new drugs can be developed.
 

- July 11 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
 

www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0604511103

 
Subscribe to Sleep Disorders Newsletter
E-mail Address:

 

Funding for the study was provided by the National Institutes of health, the Huntsman Cancer Institute and the Sloan Foundation.

Related Sleep Disorders News

Risk Factors For Developing Complications From Sleep Apnea Surgery
Studying sleep deprivation's effect on decisions
New sleep gene discovery wakes up scientists
Diphenhydramine Does Not Improve Infant Sleep
People sleep even less than they think
Computer models may reveal what makes human body clock tick
New fruit fly protein JET illuminates circadian response to light
CBT More Effective Than Zopiclone in Insomnia
Severe hot flashes associated with chronic insomnia
Acting out vivid dreams may forewarn of more serious illness


For any corrections of factual information, to contact the editors or to send any medical news or health news press releases, use feedback form

Top of Page

 

© Copyright 2004 onwards by RxPG Medical Solutions Private Limited
Contact Us