BarcelonaHaving a regular eating schedule can improve the functioning of muscle cells and thus prevent age-related aging. A study conducted by the Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona (IRB) and the Department of Medicine and Life Sciences of the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) found that synchronization between the brain's circadian clock and the peripheral clocks of the muscles and skin ensures optimal body functioning. While the former are regulated by the cycle of light and dark (or day and night), the latter's meal times play an essential role. As we age, mismatches occur that can have detrimental effects on health, such as muscle loss, worsening metabolic and motor functions, and decreased strength. The study now suggests that resetting the circadian speed of peripheral clocks (and thus meals) could prevent this aging.
Both the central clock, located in the hypothalamus of the brain, and the peripheral clocks, which are distributed in tissues throughout the body, make up what we know as the “circadian clock.” In other words, a complete series of biochemical and physiological mechanisms that regulate the internal processes that the human body performs periodically, every 24 hours, in order to function as it should. Specifically for these pace Days are such that, scientifically, they are called biological clocks: the concept comes from the Latin words around, What does it mean on, I death (day). With age, the central clock tends to deteriorate, but Catalan researchers have found that peripheral clocks may hold the key to restoring proper rhythm.
The study published in Sciences, It focuses on brain-muscle communication, an area that has been previously explored. Researchers have also shown that eating only during the active phase of the day can partially replace the central clock and improve the peripheral clock autonomy of the muscles. In mice, they found that it is only necessary to regulate the hours of intake so that muscle cells regain the correct rhythm. The results of the research, led by Dr. Salvador Aznar Benita of the IRB and Dr. Bora Muñoz Canoves of UPF, have been published in two complementary journal articles Sciences I Stem cell.
“Our study reveals that only minimal interaction between the central clock and the peripheral clock is needed to maintain optimal functioning of tissues such as muscle and skin, and to prevent their deterioration and aging,” Muñoz Canoves points out. Specifically, coordination between clocks ensures 50% of the development of daily functions of tissues such as muscle and skin, including vital processes such as DNA repair and metabolism. It also shows that peripheral clocks are able to maintain 24-hour cycles and manage about 15% of the functions that muscle and skin routinely perform in the absence of the central clock. All these findings, according to the researchers, have important implications for developing treatments against muscle aging and improving physical performance at advanced ages.
The importance of the peripheral clock
The second study was published in Stem cellIt demonstrates that the skin's circadian clock is key in coordinating circadian tissue physiology. By integrating and, sometimes, modifying brain signals, the correct functioning of the skin is ensured. A surprising finding is that in the absence of the peripheral clock, the central clock maintains the skin's circadian rhythm, but runs contrary to normal (i.e., on an opposite schedule).
For example, it has been observed that DNA replication, if controlled solely by the central clock, would occur during the day, when the skin is exposed to UV radiation, but typically the body only replicates during the hours of maximum UV exposure. It has passed the ultraviolet rays. If the peripheral clock were not present, the risk of accumulating further mutations would increase. In this way, the importance of the peripheral clock in adapting central clock signals to the specific needs of specific tissues is highlighted.
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