Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Circadian rhythms and arthritis.

Maurizio Cutolo1, Alfonse T Masi

  • 1Research Laboratory, Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Università degli Studi di Genova, Viale Benedetto XV 6, 16132 Genova, Italy. mcutolo@unige.it

Rheumatic Diseases Clinics of North America
|January 11, 2005
PubMed
Summary

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) symptoms like morning stiffness are linked to circadian rhythms. Hormonal changes, including cortisol, melatonin, and sex hormones, influence RA inflammation and pain, suggesting optimized drug timing.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Lower total cholesterol and triglyceride levels in ankylosing spondylitis than non-inflammatory rheumatic disease controls in a 1978-98 study: a potential effect of increased physical energetics in manual occupations in the pre-2000 chronologic era.

Clinical and experimental rheumatology·2024
Same author

The Importance of Neuroendocrine Immunology Pathways in the Course of COVID-19.

Neuroimmunomodulation·2024
Same author

Progression of patients with Raynaud's phenomenon to systemic sclerosis: a five-year analysis of the European Scleroderma Trial and Research group multicentre, longitudinal registry study for Very Early Diagnosis of Systemic Sclerosis (VEDOSS).

The Lancet. Rheumatology·2024
Same author

Microvascular status in juvenile Sjögren's disease: the first nailfold videocapillaroscopy investigation.

Clinical rheumatology·2024
Same author

Long-term outcomes of COVID-19 vaccination in patients with rare and complex connective tissue diseases: The ERN-ReCONNET VACCINATE study.

Journal of translational autoimmunity·2024
Same author

Best clinical practice in the treatment of juvenile systemic sclerosis: expert panel guidance - the result of the International Hamburg Consensus Meeting December 2022.

Expert review of clinical immunology·2023

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Endocrinology
  • Chronobiology

Background:

  • Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) symptoms exhibit significant circadian variation, with joint stiffness and pain peaking in the early morning.
  • Dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis (cortisol) and the pineal gland (melatonin) are implicated in RA's circadian manifestations.
  • Proinflammatory cytokine production in humans follows a diurnal rhythm, peaking at night/early morning when anti-inflammatory cortisol is lowest and potentially proinflammatory melatonin is highest.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the role of circadian rhythms and hormonal fluctuations in the clinical presentation of rheumatoid arthritis.
  • To investigate the interplay between inflammatory markers, hormones, and the timing of RA symptoms.
  • To assess the implications of these circadian patterns for patient management and therapeutic interventions.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on rheumatoid arthritis, circadian rhythms, and hormonal influences.
  • Analysis of diurnal patterns in inflammatory markers (cytokines) and their correlation with hormone levels (cortisol, melatonin, sex hormones).
  • Examination of patient-reported outcomes related to pain and sleep disturbances in relation to the menstrual cycle phases.

Main Results:

  • RA symptoms, particularly joint stiffness and pain, demonstrate a clear circadian pattern, worsening in the early morning.
  • Hormonal factors, including cortisol, melatonin, and sex hormones (estrogen, progesterone), are significantly associated with the diurnal variation of RA symptoms.
  • Increased pain and sleep disturbances correlate with higher estrogen and progesterone levels during the luteal phase in RA patients.

Conclusions:

  • Circadian rhythms significantly influence the inflammatory processes and symptom severity in rheumatoid arthritis.
  • Hormonal fluctuations play a crucial role in mediating the daily variations of RA symptoms.
  • Understanding these chronobiological aspects may lead to optimized timing for drug administration and daily activities in RA management.