Os ritmos da vida : uma visão actualizada da cronobiologia aplicada
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Data
2009
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Edições Universitárias Lusófonas
Resumo
As flutuações ambientais, tais como o ciclo dia-noite, as estações do ano e as variações de temperatura e humidade, são um desafio à sobrevivência dos seres vivos, os quais desenvolveram mecanismos de ajustamento e adaptação dos
seus processos fisiológicos a essas variações cíclicas - o chamado Relógio Endógeno. Este relógio percebe a
variação temporal, é regulado por diversos sincronizadores e, informa todo o organismo através de sistemas
humorais e neurais.
A Cronobiologia é um novo ramo da ciência que estuda os ritmos das funções biológicas relacionando-os com a saúde e com a doença, dando origem a outras ciências como a cronofarmacologia, a cronotoxicologia e a cronoterapia, cujos princípios (cronobiológicos) são hoje utilizados para, por exemplo, determinar a melhor hora do dia para a administração de um fármaco de forma a maximizar a eficácia e a minimizar as reacções adversas.
A presente revisão pretende definir e explicar os conceitos básicos e o funcionamento do relógio endógeno e dos ritmos circadianos, defini-lo para os diferentes sistemas biológicos e, através da pele, demonstrar como o
conhecimento prático destas especialidades, contribui, de forma aplicada, para o desenvolvimento do nosso conhecimento específico, ilustrando assim o estado-da-arte destes domínios.
Environmental fluctuations, such as the day-night cycle, the year seasons and temperature and humidity changes, are a challenge to the living beings survival whose developed mechanisms allowing to adjust their physiological processes to those cyclic variations, the so-called endogenous clock. This clock recognizes time variation, is regulated by several synchronizers, and informs the whole organism by humoral and neural systems. Chronobiology is a new science branch studying the biological rhythms, relating them to health and disease, from which other medical sciences, such as chronopharmacology, chronotoxicology and chronotherapy emerged. It's principles are actually used to determine , e.g., the best schedule for drug administration in order to maximize their efficiency and to minimize adverse reactions. This review intends to define and to explain the basic concepts and functioning of the endogenous clock and circadian rhythms, to define them in different biological systems and, through the skin, to demonstrate how the knowledge of these specialties contributes, in practical terms, to the development of our specific knowledge, illustrating the “state of the art” of this area of knowledge.
Environmental fluctuations, such as the day-night cycle, the year seasons and temperature and humidity changes, are a challenge to the living beings survival whose developed mechanisms allowing to adjust their physiological processes to those cyclic variations, the so-called endogenous clock. This clock recognizes time variation, is regulated by several synchronizers, and informs the whole organism by humoral and neural systems. Chronobiology is a new science branch studying the biological rhythms, relating them to health and disease, from which other medical sciences, such as chronopharmacology, chronotoxicology and chronotherapy emerged. It's principles are actually used to determine , e.g., the best schedule for drug administration in order to maximize their efficiency and to minimize adverse reactions. This review intends to define and to explain the basic concepts and functioning of the endogenous clock and circadian rhythms, to define them in different biological systems and, through the skin, to demonstrate how the knowledge of these specialties contributes, in practical terms, to the development of our specific knowledge, illustrating the “state of the art” of this area of knowledge.
Descrição
Revista Lusófona de Ciências e Tecnologias da Saúde
Palavras-chave
MEDICINA, CRONOBIOLOGIA, MEDICINE, CHRONOBIOLOGY, PELE, SKIN, RITMO CIRCADIANO, CIRCADIAN RHYTHM