Chronobiology of alcohol: from chronokinetics to alcohol-related alterations of the circadian system.
The development of concepts in chronobiology is intimately linked to studies on alcohol, as a number of these are based on chronobiological variations observed in the metabolism of ethanol. This concerns circadian differences in its metabolism (chronokinetics) and effects (chronoefficacy and chronotoxicity) and also inherent circadian rhythmicity in the sensitivity of target organs to its effects (chronesthesy). Chronobiologic discoveries are also fertile grounds for understanding the biological and psychotropic effects of alcohol. Confusing effects, which are difficult to explain by conventional homeostatic theory, are easy to understand when considered in the context of the concepts of chronopharmacology, and thereby uncovering new pathways of investigation. Beyond the studies that have elucidated the rhythm-dependent variation in ethanol, chronobiology is opening new explanatory pathways concerning the attributes of the alcohol withdrawal syndrome and effects of alcohol on the development of the central nervous system, particularly the development of the internal clock, and on the alcohol-dependency syndrome. The concepts of chronopharmacology and chronotoxicology are of equal importance to the fields of occupational medicine and industry medicine.
Danel
Thierry
T
Service de Biochimie Médicale et Biologie Moléculaire, Faculté de Médecine Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France. t-danel@chru-lille.fr
Touitou
Yvan
Y
D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000818:Animals; D001683:Biological Clocks / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D002909:Chronobiology Phenomena; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology; D004703:Endocrine System / Q000187:drug effects; D000431:Ethanol / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D013972:Thyrotropin / Q000378:metabolism
D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000431:Ethanol; D013972:Thyrotropin