Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 6, 2025

Author Spotlight: Overcoming Challenges in Drosophila Sleep Measurement Using DAM System
Published on: October 20, 2023
Elderly as a High-risk Group during COVID-19 Pandemic: Effect of Circadian Misalignment, Sleep Dysregulation and
Daniel P Cardinali1, Gregory M Brown2, Russel J Reiter3
1Faculty of Medical Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina, Av. Moreau de Justo 1300, 1007 Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Abstract:
The association of age with a higher vulnerability to COVID-19 infection is a subject of major importance. Several factors, including higher stress due to social isolation, diminished melatonin levels with age, and higher exposure of individuals to light at the evening, which reduces melatonin levels and disrupts circadian rhythmicity are relevant for maintaining the circadian health in aged individuals. Properly administered, chronotherapy restores the optimal circadian pattern of the sleep-wake cycle in the elderly. It involves adequate sleep hygiene, timed light exposure, and the use of a chronobiotic medication like melatonin, which affects the output phase of circadian rhythms thus controlling the biological clock. Besides, the therapeutic potential of melatonin as an agent to counteract the consequences of COVID-19 infections has been advocated due to its wide-ranging effects as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and as an immunomodulatory agent, as well as to a possible antiviral action. This article discusses how chronotherapy may reverse the detrimental circadian condition of the elderly in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Related Concept Videos
Management of Insomnia
Chronopharmacokinetics: Circadian Rhythms and Influence on Drug Response
The time of drug administration is an important factor to consider, as it can influence the toxic dose of a drug. For example, a study conducted by Prins et al. in 1997 examined the effects of the timing of...
Insufficient Sleep and Sleep Deprivation
Sleep deprivation is a more severe form of sleep loss...
Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation
Drug Dosing: Geriatric Patients
Pharmacodynamics in Geriatric Patients: Effects of Age

