Abstract
Despite varied etiologies and symptoms, several neurodegenerative diseases—specifically, Alzheimer’s (AD), Parkinson’s (PD), and Huntington’s diseases (HDs)—share the common feature of abnormal circadian rhythms, such as those in behavior (e.g., disrupted sleep/wake cycles), physiological processes (e.g., diminished hormone release) and biochemical activities (e.g., antioxidant production). Circadian disturbances are among the earliest symptoms of these diseases, and the molecular mechanisms of the circadian system are suspected to play a pivotal, and possibly causal, role in their natural histories. Here, we review the common circadian abnormalities observed in ADs, PDs and HDs, and summarize the evidence that the molecular circadian clockwork directly influences the course of these disease states. On the basis of this research, we explore several circadian-oriented interventions proposed as treatments for these neurological disorders.
Circadian Rhythms and Neurodegenerative Diseases
As life expectancy increases globally, the prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases mounts steadily. Worldwide, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), and Huntington’s disease (HD) are among the most prevalent neurodegenerative diseases, and are associated with a significant burden for health care systems (Neurological Health Charities Canada, 2014, September). Despite the varied pathogenesis and diversity of symptoms among them, common to AD, PD and HD are disruptions of circadian rhythms, or the near 24-h cyclic fluctuations in a host of physiological and behavioral processes. A rapidly growing body of research suggests that disturbances in the circadian system precede the emergence of the characteristic cognitive and motor symptoms of these diseases by years (Kondratova and Kondratov, ; Hastings and Goedert, ; Videnovic et al., 2014a; Abbott and Videnovic, ; Mattis and Sehgal, 2016), and may contribute to their onset (Kondratova and Kondratov, ; Videnovic and Zee, 2015). Here, we provide a concise overview of the evidence linking the circadian system to these diseases, and examine circadian-oriented approaches to the treatment of AD, PD and HD.
Circadian Rhythms and Cellular Clocks
The circadian system provides an adaptive mechanism for organisms to coordinate cellular processes, physiological functions and behaviors with the predictable 24-h cycle of light and dark on Earth (Bell-Pedersen et al., ). In humans, familiar examples of rhythms include daily patterns of sleeping and waking; the rise and fall of core body temperature; heart rate; blood pressure; and release of a wide variety of hormones, such as the nightly surge in melatonin from the pineal gland. The presence of an endogenous timing system in the body is clearly seen in conditions when predictable time-of-day cues are removed, yet near-24 h rhythms in these processes persist nonetheless (Arendt, ).
In mammals, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) houses the master circadian clock, and is found just dorsal to the optic chiasm. Inputs to the SCN from the retinohypothalamic tract provide information about daily light exposure to synchronize the endogenous clockwork to the external environment (Welsh et al., 2010). In turn, the SCN communicates time-of-day information by both synaptic and diffusible signals to a host of peripheral oscillators in a variety of brain regions and organs, such as heart, lungs, liver and adrenal glands. Thus, the SCN serves to coordinate the timing of a distributed network of clocks throughout the body (Mohawk et al., 2012). This coordination is vital for health and well-being: circadian desynchrony is already implicated in a number of disease states, including some cancers, metabolic diseases, and mood disorders such as bipolar disease and major depression (Roybal et al., 2007; McFadden et al., 2014; Stevens et al., 2014; Lucassen et al., 2016; Morris et al., 2016).
As outlined in Figure 1, the circadian timekeeping mechanism is controlled at a cellular level by a group of genes that regulate their own transcription and translation over approximately 24 h via a series of interacting negative feedback loops (for a review see Mohawk et al., 2012). In addition to regulating their own levels of expression, “clock” genes serve as transcription factors for other genes which regulate a variety of functions, including cell division, metabolism, immune responses and oxidative processes (Duffield, ; Wilking et al., 2013). Importantly, mutations of the bmal1 and period genes yield an accelerated aging phenotype in Drosophila and mice, with faster rates of tissue decline, impairments in cognitive function and shorter lifespan relative to age-matched wild type controls (Kondratov et al., ; Krishnan et al., ).
Figure 1
Circadian Symptoms of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s Diseases
Like other physiological processes, activity of the circadian system changes significantly across the lifespan (for recent reviews see Duffy et al.,
Sleep/Wake Rhythms
Disturbances in the sleep/wake rhythm are perhaps the most prominent circadian-related symptom in individuals affected by AD, PD, or HD. Nighttime sleep becomes increasingly fragmented as these diseases progress, while nocturnal activity levels and daytime sleepiness increase (Hatfield et al.,
Melatonin and Cortisol Rhythms
Disturbances have been documented in the circadian rhythms of melatonin and cortisol release in AD, PD and HD. Common to each is a flattening of the melatonin rhythm, such that the normal nighttime peak is suppressed relative to healthy, age-matched controls (Mishima et al., 1999; Wu et al., 2003; Breen et al.,
Changes in the rhythm of cortisol release have also been observed, although these changes are somewhat more varied compared with those in melatonin. The normal cortisol rhythm rises in the early morning, with the peak occurring near waking and the nadir in the late evening (Touitou and Haus, 2000). Minimal change in this rhythm has been observed in individuals with suspected AD or dementia (Hatfield et al.,
Core Body Temperature Rhythm
The human core body temperature rhythm rises throughout the day to peak in the early evening, then falls throughout the night to reach its nadir in the early morning (Van Someren, 2000). Studies of individuals with AD indicate a delay in the peak of this rhythm and a decrease in its amplitude (Satlin et al., 1995; Harper et al.,
Mood and Behavior Rhythm
A rhythm in mood and emotional volatility reportedly emerges as neurodegenerative conditions progress. This “sundown syndrome” comprises a daily pattern of increased agitation, emotional volatility, and aggression that peaks in the late afternoon or evening (for review see Bachman and Rabins,
Neurodegenerative Diseases and Clock Gene Expression
Evidence from individuals with AD, PD, or HD and animal models of each disease state indicate abnormalities in the rhythms of bmal1 and per2 expression. In AD, the pattern of change observed in bmal1 mRNA expression is complex. In several brain regions and peripheral tissues, bmal1 mRNA expression remains rhythmic; however, the temporal phase relationships among these tissues differ compared with healthy controls (Cermakian et al.,
Does A Faulty Circadian Clock Cause Neurodegenerative Disease?
Given the prevalence of rhythm abnormalities in neurodegenerative diseases, circadian disturbances are increasingly regarded as harbingers of neurodegeneration (e.g., Videnovic and Zee, 2015; Mattis and Sehgal, 2016). Consistent with this idea, several prospective studies have identified excessive daytime sleepiness (Abbott et al.,
Are these circadian disruptions a consequence of neurodegeneration affecting clockwork mechanisms in the brain and periphery, or do malfunctioning endogenous clocks directly contribute to disease progression? It is clear that prolonged disruption of normal circadian rhythms yields a variety of negative effects on health via mechanisms including widespread impact on gene transcription and pro-inflammatory processes (Archer and Oster,
Degenerative changes within the SCN itself may play a contributory role in these disease states, although evidence supporting this possibility is not entirely consistent. Some post-mortem studies of brain tissue from sufferers of AD indicate loss of hypothalamic tissue that includes cells in the SCN, a reduction in the expression of the neuropeptides AVP and VIP (Swaab et al., 1985; Stopa et al., 1999), and a decrease in the expression of the melatonin receptor MT1 (Wu et al., 2007; however, see Wang et al., 2015). Rodent models of HD exhibit reduced spontaneous cell firing in the SCN compared with controls (Kudo et al.,
Compelling evidence suggests that the circadian system may contribute to neurodegenerative disease states through its involvement in regulating cellular responses to oxidative stress (Kondratova and Kondratov,
Circadian-Oriented Interventions in Neurodegenerative Disease
If the circadian system is indeed a contributor to neurodegenerative disease, it follows that therapeutic interventions targeting the circadian clock could mitigate symptoms, or perhaps even retard the course of the disease itself. To this end, a number of circadian-oriented therapies have been investigated for AD, PD and HD.
One of the most frequently explored examples of this kind of intervention is the use of bright light therapy. Previous evidence has shown that institutionalized older adults may have very little daily exposure to bright light, particularly those with severe symptoms of dementia (Ancoli-Israel et al.,
Timed administration of melatonin has been investigated for its therapeutic potential in AD, PD and HD. As shown in vitro and in animal models, melatonin has antioxidant and apoptotic properties (Reiter et al., 2002; Wang et al., 2011), and appears to prevent the formation of alpha-synuclein protein aggregations (the primary protein component of Lewy bodies; Ono et al., 2012). However, in randomized controlled clinical trials in humans, the effects of melatonin supplements on sleep quality and activity rhythms have been inconsistent. In individuals with PD, daily doses of melatonin did not improve sleep quality, but were associated with improved self-report measures of sleeping (Medeiros et al., 2007). In trials involving individuals with suspected AD, modest improvements in sleep quality (reduced sleep latency, improved sleep efficiency) and increased total sleep time were observed in some cases (Asayama et al.,
The lack of evidence that timed light exposure and melatonin administration improve the non-circadian symptoms of AD, PD and HD would seem to undermine the idea that the circadian system contributes to the etiology of these neurodegenerative diseases. It is likely, however, that some methodological inconsistencies across trials have contributed to these inconclusive findings. For example, studies evaluating light exposure have varied markedly in the intensity of light used; the timing of light exposure; and clinical characteristics of the participants (Forbes et al.,
Recent studies suggest that imposing restricted meal times could mitigate some of the circadian symptoms of neurodegeneration. In the R6/2 rodent model of HD, the restriction of food access to a 6-h window in the light phase restored a rhythm of locomotor activity and altered clock gene expression patterns in liver, compared with wild type controls (Maywood et al., 2010). The use of a dark-phase restricted feeding schedule also appears to delay the developmental onset of the HD phenotype in R6/2 mice, and increases core body temperature compared with wild type controls (Skillings et al., 2014). Further research into the effects of timed food restriction using animal models of AD and PD would be valuable to pursue.
Conclusions
Taken together, a growing body of evidence strongly implicates the circadian system in the onset and expression of AD, PD and HD. Disruptions to normal rhythmic processes are increasingly recognized as characteristic features of these disease states, and these disruptions may serve as early indicators of developing pathology. At the molecular level, clock genes regulate a number of genes and biochemical processes that contribute directly to neurodegeneration. Although it is currently unclear whether the circadian system plays a causal role in pathogenesis, further research may clarify this relationship. The advancement of knowledge on this subject may foster the development of screening tools to identify individuals at early stages of neurodegeneration, and may perhaps open a new realm of therapeutic interventions. Given the projected increase in the prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases in the coming years (Sosa-Ortiz et al., 2012), these advancements would be both timely and welcome.
Statements
Author contributions
SH and SA wrote the article.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (37358.2013), les Fonds de la Recherché en Santé Québec, and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (MOP142458).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
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Summary
Keywords
circadian rhythms, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, neurodegeneration, sleep, clock genes
Citation
Hood S and Amir S (2017) Neurodegeneration and the Circadian Clock. Front. Aging Neurosci. 9:170. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2017.00170
Received
10 January 2017
Accepted
15 May 2017
Published
30 May 2017
Volume
9 - 2017
Edited by
Catarina Oliveira, University of Coimbra, Portugal
Reviewed by
Lakshmi Rajagopal, Northwestern University, United States; Umesh Gangishetti, Emory University, United States; Takayoshi Ubuka, Monash University Malaysia, Malaysia
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© 2017 Hood and Amir.
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*Correspondence: Shimon Amir shimon.amir@concordia.ca
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