Chronobiology and chronotoxicology of antibiotics and aminoglycosides

Denis Beauchamp1, Gaston Labrecque

  • 1Research Center on Infectious Diseases and Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec, Pavilion CHUL, Canada.

Insights

Circadian rhythms influence infectious disease symptoms and drug effectiveness. Optimizing antimicrobial dosing times, like with aminoglycosides, can reduce toxicity, particularly kidney damage.

Area of Science:

  • Chronobiology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Circadian variations in infectious disease symptom intensity are under-researched.
  • Seasonal patterns are known, but daily (circadian) patterns in symptom expression are less appreciated.
  • Fever from infections shows diurnal variation, differing between bacterial and viral causes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore circadian variations in infectious disease symptom intensity.
  • To investigate time-dependent differences in antimicrobial pharmacokinetics and toxicity.
  • To inform the development of less toxic, time-optimized drug formulations.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing studies on circadian rhythms in infectious diseases.
  • Analysis of diurnal patterns in fever associated with infections.
  • Examination of administration-time-dependent effects of antimicrobial agents, focusing on aminoglycosides.

Main Results:

  • Fever peaks in the afternoon for common colds.
  • Bacterial infection fevers are higher in the evening; viral infection fevers are higher in the morning.
  • Aminoglycoside nephrotoxicity is greatest when administered during the body's resting period.

Conclusions:

  • Circadian rhythms significantly impact infectious disease symptom presentation.
  • Timing of aminoglycoside administration influences nephrotoxicity.
  • Understanding these chronobiological mechanisms can lead to safer, once-daily dosing strategies for antimicrobials.

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