Is chronotherapy effective for Parkinson’s Disease?

Nibourg, S.A.F. (2014) Is chronotherapy effective for Parkinson’s Disease? Bachelor's Thesis, Biology.

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Abstract

Increasing evidence indicates a relationship between impaired circadian processes and Parkinson’s Disease (PD). Altering these impaired circadian processes could be beneficial in treating certain symptoms of PD. Typical parkinsonian symptoms are motor problems. Besides motor symptoms, also non-motor symptoms as depression and sleep problems may occur. Chronotherapy uses entraining agents to change the internal rhythms of the body. Sleep deprivation and bright light therapy are common chronotherapeutic interventions. The use of these interventions is common in treating affective disorders, however, not in the context of PD. In general the overall effect of chronotherapy on PD is not clear. Therefore, a literature study is performed to enlighten these effects. The main research question was: ‘Is chronotherapy effective for Parkinson’s Disease?’. A very conclusive answer to this question cannot be given, since published research on this topic is scarce. Studies about bright light therapy in PD strongly indicate the positive outcome for PD patients. Motor symptoms, depression, and sleep problems all seem to improve. The effect of sleep deprivation is more questionable, however, one could suggest that this therapy is useful for motor symptoms and depression. It was found that a chronopharmacological approach with Levodopa is not relevant in treating motor symptoms. Up to now few studies have been dedicated to this topic, and the current knowledge about drug metabolism in a circadian manner strongly suggests that this statement about Levodopa is incorrect. It is clear that many aspects in PD are related to our circadian clock. Altering the circadian clock in such a way that it is beneficial in PD is not a conventional therapy, however, it is a well-tolerated and safe procedure. The relationship between the altered biological rhythms and PD indicates that chronotherapy possibly could be beneficial for patients with PD.

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor's Thesis)
Degree programme:	Biology
Thesis type:	Bachelor's Thesis
Language:	English
Date Deposited:	15 Feb 2018 07:58
Last Modified:	15 Feb 2018 07:58
URI:	https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/12006

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