View clinical trials related to Chronobiology Disorders.
Filter by:The Self-care for Dementia Caregivers Study is a behavioral health intervention that uses digital monitoring tools and motivational health coaching to help caregivers of persons with dementia engage in a regular routine of self-care. Participants wear an apple watch for the objective collection of sleep-wake rhythms. They receive personalized feedback on their sleep-wake rhythms via a new app. Health coaches call participants weekly, for 6 weeks to help participants meet their health/sleep goals and promote self-knowledge of regular routines. Participants will help the study team improve the design elements and content of the mobile app. The goal of this intervention is to reduce psychological distress and caregiver burden.
Sleep is regulated by the interaction of homeostatic and circadian processes. The homeostatic process determines sleep propensity in relation to sleep-wake history, the circadian one is responsible for the alternation of high/low sleep propensity in relation to dark/light cues, and is substantially independent of preceding sleep-wake behaviour. The circadian timing system encompasses a master clock in the brain and peripheral, ancillary time-keepers in virtually every organ of the body. In recent years, evidence has emerged that circadian disruption has serious medical consequences, including sleep loss, increased cardiovascular morbidity and increased risk of certain types of cancer. Evidence is also emerging that hospitalization per se weakens circadian rhythmicity, due to disease itself and to modified light, food and activity cues. The aim of our project is to test an inpatient management system (CircadianCare) that limits the circadian impact of hospitalisation by enhancing circadian rhythmicity through an assessment of the patient's specific circadian features/needs and an ad hoc, personalized light-dark, meal and activity schedule to cover the whole of the inpatient stay. This will be compared to standard inpatient management in terms of patients' perception, sleep-wake quality and timing during hospitalisation, inpatient utilization of sleep-inducing medication, length of hospitalisation, and prognosis (i.e. outcome of hospitalisation, subsequent hospitalisations and post-discharge sleep-wake disturbances). The CircadianCare system is expected to benefit prognosis, decrease costs, and change the way hospitals are organized and designed in future, with potential direct relevance to the plans for the new University Hospital of Padova.
The Multidisciplinary Expert System for the Assessment & Management of Complex Brain Disorders (MES-CoBraD) is an interdisciplinary project combining Real-World Data (RWD) from multiple clinical and consumer sources through comprehensive, cost-efficient, and fast protocols towards improving diagnostic accuracy and therapeutic outcomes in people with Complex Brain Disorders (CoBraD), as reflected in Neurocognitive (Dementia), Sleep, and Seizure (Epilepsy) disorders and their interdependence. It brings together internationally recognized experts in medicine, engineering, computer science, social health science, law, and marketing and communication from across Europe, and combines clinical information and scientific research in CoBraD with technical innovation in secure data-sharing platforms, artificial intelligence algorithms, and expert systems of precision and personalized care, with a primary focus on improving the quality of life of patients, their caregivers, and the society at large. It leverages RWD from diverse CoBraD populations across cultural, socioeconomic, educational, and health system backgrounds, with special attention on including vulnerable populations and minorities in an equitable manner and engaging key stakeholders to maximize project impact.
The study will test a sleep-health intervention that leverages the science on habit formation. It will evaluate if adding a text messaging intervention improves habit formation. The participants will be 18-30 years old.
The precise role of the intrinsic circadian regulatory mechanism behind the pathogenesis of enuresis is not fully understood, but in theory, circadian rhythm irregularity may be the primary pathogenic mechanism not only for urinary outflow mechanisms but also for nocturnal bladder function. The proximity between SCN centers that control AVP release, sleep/arousal, voiding, and baroreregulation may provide the basis for circadian rhythm disturbance in one or more of these biological functions. Ganglion cells containing melanopsin pigment in the retina transmit the information they receive from the outside world about the light-dark state to the SCN via the retinohypothalamic pathway. Peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, optic nerve head and macula are examined most frequently for the diagnosis of glaucoma and the detection of progression with optical coherence tomography (OCT). If differences in ganglion cell thickness can be detected using OCT in these children, a new avenue in Enuresis Nocturna may be opened.
There is strong reason to believe that sleep promotion during adolescence could yield long-term health rewards; the investigators' data show that, when they get more sleep, Morning Larks have impressively reduced intake of overall calories and foods high in glycemic load that are linked to long-term health risk. Before that can be translated into major public health interventions, however, the field needs to understand why similar changes in sleep had no effect, or even an adverse effect, on adolescent Night Owls. This experimental study will clarify why there have been such discrepant effects across Morning Larks and Night Owls, with the goal of more broadly harnessing the promise of improved sleep in the prevention of obesity and long-term morbidity.
Binge eating disorder (BED) shows prominent circadian features that suggest a delay in circadian phase, and preliminary evidence shows binge eating may be responsive to chronobiological interventions, implicating a circadian system dysfunction in its pathophysiology. What remains lacking, however, is comprehensive knowledge of the characteristics of circadian system dysfunction in BED, and whether this dysfunction represents a therapeutic target in BED. There is therefore a critical need to characterize circadian system dysfunction in BED, and evaluate it as a potential therapeutic target. Without such information, the understanding on the role of the circadian system in BED and its potential as a new therapeutic target will remain limited.
Current methods for assessing circadian timing require sampling over hours (or even up to a day) while the patient is in controlled conditions. The investigators aim to develop a method that can estimate individual circadian time with a single blood sample taken at any time of the day or night. To do this, the investigators will use two state of the art methods, a plasma proteomics-based method to identify a panel of rhythmic proteins (extending our preliminary data) and a whole blood-derived monocyte-based method using a panel of 15 transcripts (to validate and extend a recent study). We will test both methods in a series of patients with circadian rhythm sleep disorders. We will validate separately the proteomics-based biomarker and the monocyte-based transcript biomarker, and also explore whether combining them can improve the accuracy of our timing estimates. In all cases, circadian phase estimates from the biomarker panels will be compared with those derived from plasma or saliva melatonin (the current "gold-standard" circadian phase marker).
This is a multicenter, double-blind, randomized study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a daily single oral dose of tasimelteon and matching placebo in male and female participants with DSWPD.
- Sleep disorders, especially insomnia - Attention deficits (or disorders), daytime somnolence and drug dependence - The goal is to evaluate whether light therapy could be used as an efficient alternative treatment with direct application in general practice