Eye drops could one day cure jet lag

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh believe the recently discovered cells are responsible for affecting our ‘biological clock’, the section of the brain which regulates circadian rhythms.“Our exciting results show a potentially new pharmacological route to manipulate our internal biological clocks,” study lead Professor Mike Ludwig said.{{quote-A:R-W:450-I:2-Q:“Our exciting results show a potentially new pharmacological route to manipulate our internal biological clocks,”-WHO:Mike Ludwig, Study Lead Professor of the University of Edinburgh}}According to Ludwig, whose study was published in the Journal of Physiology, our biological clocks are synchronised with light and dark transitions, and are a critical part of regulating brain activity, body tperature, hormone production and other physiological changes.Biological clocks are controlled by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), a region of the brain that coordinates the circadian rhythm using many different signalling molecules, including the neurohormone vasopressin. It has long been known that the retina signals environmental light changes to the SCN, but it was previously unclear on how this process took place.However, Ludwig’s research revealed that the retina has its own population of vasopressin-expressing cells that communicate directly to the SCN and are involved with regulating the circadian rhythm. This provided an insight into how the biological clock is regulated by light, potentially creating new therapeutic opportunities to help restore altered circadian rhythms through the eye.Tests conducted on lab rats that manipulated the signalling of light information to the SCN confirmed vasopressin-expressing cells in the retina were directly involved with regulating circadian rhythms.“Studies in the future which alter vasopressin signalling through the eye could lead to developing eye drops to get rid of jet lag, but we are still a long way off from this,” Ludwig added.