Researchers have developed a computer method called ZeitZeiger that uses a sample of human blood to accurately predict circadian time\u2014the time of day according to a person\u2019s body clock.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur study demonstrates a method for predicting a person\u2019s \u2018internal\u2019 time of day that could eventually be used to help diagnose and monitor circadian and sleep-related disorders, and also to personalise treatments,\u201d said lead author Jake Hughey from Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, US.<\/p>\n
In addition, ZeitZeiger can also be used to show how disruptions to sleep-wake and light-dark cycles\u2014by modern environments, for example due to shift work or reduced exposure to sunlight\u2014affect the circadian clock.<\/p>\n
Circadian dysfunction is linked to conditions such as cancer, depressive disorder and obesity.<\/p>\n
Developing treatments that improve the function of or that account for the circadian system has the potential to improve multiple areas of human health, the researchers stated in the paper published in the journal Genome Medicine.<\/p>\n
For the study, the team used 498 publicly available samples from 60 individuals who had blood drawn either throughout the day on a normal sleep-wake and light-dark cycle (controls), or following disruptions to their sleep-wake and light-dark cycle (condition).<\/p>\n
Using their machine learning algorithm to analyse the RNA in the blood samples the researchers were able to identify a set 15 of genes capable of accurately predicting a person\u2019s circadian time.<\/p>\n
Out of these 13 genes were not \u2018core\u2019 genes\u2014necessary for the generation and regulation of circadian rhythms\u2014of the human circadian clock.<\/p>\n
The results showed that ZeitZeiger could achieve state-of-the-art accuracy and also detected when the circadian clock was phase-shifted or dysfunctional.<\/p>\n
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