Recent studies show that the effectiveness of drugs is greater when taken at a specific time during the day. Scientists say the effects of thousands of drugs may be closely related to our biological clock.
While it has long been known that some medications, such as statins and aspirin, are more effective when taken in the morning or evening, scientists have long been unsure why this is happening, or whether the rule applies to all medications.
The problem was analyzed by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania who determined when the genes regulating the functioning of individual organs are most active during the day. It turns out that the liver and kidneys are working at their highest speed after 18 p.m., the genes responsible for lung function at lunchtime, and the heart is most active in the morning.
According to the researchers, drugs that affect these genes can act differently depending on when the patient is taking them. Tests on mice have shown that nearly half of the specifics from the list of 250 most popular drugs in the world according to The World Health Organization works differently when you take them in the morning or evening.
Many drugs have a very short-term effect on the body, so it is important to take them when they are most effective. Taking tablets at the wrong time of day, when genes are inactive, is pointless and may cause treatment to be ineffective. Moreover, some of the medications initially tested in the morning, when taken in the evening, turned out to be harmful, and vice versa.
– Each drug must be thoroughly tested on animals and clinical trials conducted – says prof. John Hogenesch. – Now we know what potential effects on specific organs to expect depending on the time of day. Therapy with low doses of aspirin is most effective in lowering blood pressure when the drug is taken in the evening, while at least 50 percent. patients are taking aspirin in the morning. One in six patients are taking statins at the wrong time.
Prof. Hogenesch notes that although hundreds of studies have been conducted to increase the tolerability and effectiveness of chemotherapy, few cancer patients are given medication at any particular time during the day.
In recent years, among doctors, there has been an increase in interest in chronotherapy, i.e. treatment based on adjusting drugs to our circadian rhythm. The most promising application of this knowledge appears to be the treatment of cancer and rheumatoid arthritis.
The results of the experiment are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Five years of research allowed scientists to compile a daily map of the activity of thousands of mammalian genes for the first time. This knowledge will allow doctors to determine which medications may work more effectively if taken at the right time.
The functioning of most living organisms is regulated by an internal mechanism that synchronizes life processes with changes in environmental conditions occurring in the circadian cycle, related to the rotation of the Earth.
In the case of humans and other mammals, the biological clock is controlled by the senses – primarily the sense of sight, which registers the intensity of light, and the sense of temperature, thanks to which the skin feels cold and warm.
Sarah Knapton