UCLA Circadian Rhythm Research

Today I listened to a presentation given by Professor Colwell of UCLA about his research on circadian rhythms.

Circadian rhythms are really interesting as they affect every cell of the body. They affect your metabolism, general health, mood.....

What I found particularly interesting was the fact that disruption of circadian rhythms, in mice for example, can induce type II diabetes, mood disorders, cardiovascular diseases, memory loss (on humans, the subjects can learn, but not remember afterwards), and cancers (predominantly breast cancer).

When looking at mood disorders or neurological disorders, one of the first symptom that bothers patients is the inability to sleep regularly. In the case of Parkinson's disease for example, sleep disorders occur up to 15 years before other symptoms. One of Dr. Coldwell theories relates to whether treating circadian rhythms could offset the appearance of other symptoms of Parkinson's.

As a side note, other labs are conducting research on how night shifts affect nurses, and the prevalence of cancers.

Dr. Coldwell is a faculty at the UCLA school of medicine in the department of psychiatry.

he is currently conducting research on circadian rhythms.