VERIFICATION OF CIRCADIAN ABNORMALITIES IN AGING

描述(改编自调查员摘要)：调查员的 实验室最近观察到异常的不同步 两个老年志愿者样本的昼夜节律阶段。主题的数量 平均年龄约为70岁，几乎一半的人有6-硫氧基黑素排泄 这些阶段完全超出了健康年轻人的正常范围。此外， 观察到的相位异常与客观睡眠有很好的相关性。 颠覆。观察到的昼夜节律时间的扰乱是这样的。 严重到可与墓地轮班或时差的影响相媲美 从尼泊尔抵达后。如此可怕的昼夜节律不同步，如果 经验证，可提供失眠和失眠的主要原因解释 抑郁症状在年老的美国人中非常普遍。要验证 老年志愿者的昼夜节律紊乱，该项目 将测量唾液和血液中褪黑激素的昼夜节律以及 尿液中褪黑激素的6-硫氧代谢物，辅以措施 在70名60岁的志愿者样本中，尿皮质醇和体温 几年多了。为期3天的超短睡眠-唤醒周期将用于 昼夜节律相位测量，随后 褪黑素受损提示可能的同步化抵抗 被明亮的光抑制。测试-重新测试的稳定性将通过 30名老年志愿者在实验室和医院的重复观察 医院儿童权利委员会。20名健康对照(年龄20-40岁)将被评估为 用同样的方法建立昼夜节律的正常范围。如果 已证实昼夜节律相位不同步与衰老有关 通常足以引起失眠和抑郁，纠正这些 相位异常可能是缓解这种痛苦的重要方法。 让这么多年迈的美国人饱受煎熬。

DESCRIPTION (adapted from investigator's abstract): The investigator's laboratory has recently observed extraordinary malsynchronization of circadian rhythm phases in two samples of aging volunteers. Of subjects averaging about age 70, almost half had 6-sulphatoxymelatonin excretion phases wholly outside the normal range for healthy young adults. Moreover, the observed phase abnormalities were well-correlated with objective sleep disruption. The disturbances of circadian rhythm timing observed were so severe as to be comparable to effects of graveyard shiftwork or jet lag after arrival from Nepal. Such appalling circadian malsynchronization, if verified, could provide the main causal explanation for the insomnia and depressive symptoms so highly prevalent among aging Americans. To verify the derangement of circadian rhythms among aging volunteers, this project will measure circadian rhythms in salivary and blood melatonin as well as the urinary 6-sulphatoxy metabolite of melatonin, supplemented by measures of urinary cortisol and temperature, in a sample of 70 volunteers ages 60 years plus. A 3-day ultra-short sleep-wake cycle will be used for round-the-clock circadian phase measurement, followed by elevation of the possible synchronization resistance as indicated by impaired melatonin suppression by bright light. Test-retest stability will be examined with repeat observations of 30 aging volunteers in the laboratory and in the hospital CRC. Twenty healthy controls (ages 20-40) will be assessed to establish with the same methods the normal ranges for circadian phase. If it is verified that circadian phase malsynchronization associated with aging is commonly sufficient to cause insomnia and depression, correcting these phase abnormalities might be an important approach to relieve the distress which so many aging Americans suffer.