The circadian clock in old Drosophila melanogaster

A growing body of evidence indicates that one of the age-associated changes in the central nervous system that affect most old people is the loss of function of the circadian clock system. This loss results in impaired timing and quality of sleep, with consequent cognitive and other behavior problems. Failure of the clock contributes to the difficulties encountered with Alzheimer's disease. It also results in adverse changes in the hormonal regulation of intermediary metabolism, stress resistance and sexual function. Drosophila melanogaster is proposed as a model organism where this age-related change may be studied more readily. Circadian patterns are disrupted in Drosophila, with considerable differences between strains. In addition a fusion gene product of a key gene involved in the clock (per), and Green Fluorescent Protein, shows a 50% fall with age.