Body clock drug could help with depression, jet lag and other nasty things
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Scientists have developed a drug that can manipulate the body clocks of mice—opening up the possibilities of treating such wide-ranging disorders as jet lag, manic depression, and obesity. The drug, developed by a team of British and American scientists, can adjust the circadian rhythms of mice by altering a key enzyme named casein kinase 1. Previous circadian therapies, such as taking the hormone melatonin, have only indirect influence on the body’s timekeeper.
“Up until now we haven’t had any drug that plays with the core clock itself,” one of the scientists tells the Telegraph. The new drug can reset the circadian clock of a mouse to a desired hour, meaning that a human version could be used by jetlagged passengers, shift workers or insomniacs to re-align their sleep patterns. The drugs could also help treat other disorders, like manic-depression and obesity, which have a circadian component.
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Interesting, but what does it do with the body’s natural creation of melatonin, supplemental boost or what? Does it bypass that so we can stay awake longer and work more hours for the man? That would be a scary application of a pill that changes the body clock.
Thought provoking questions Jess.
Hey what can I say, I am one of those edjukated eleetisty libruls that thinks out of the box :). I would hate to think some nefarious corporation would be getting hold of something like this, to up productivity. We know the places would do it and our corporations here, are among that group to take advantage.
LOL Jess 🙂
I have experienced jet lag, like most people, but have never had a problem with it. Feeling tired at odd times is normal for me, I worked shifts for most of my working life, people got to have their newspapers when they want them. As far as traveling goes, if you don’t jump into the local time zone as soon as possible, then you will be screwed up, and deserve to be.
I found this very interesting.