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Biorhythm In the morning, viral infections are much riskier
According to British researchers, it does play a significant role at what time of day people come into contact with viruses. In one study, they found that biorhythms appear to affect susceptibility to disease. The new findings may be useful for the timing of vaccinations.
Some people are more likely to get sick
Although each person can become infected with countless pathogens, some become more ill, others almost never. This is partly because some people are more susceptible to infections. For example because her immune system is weakened due to a lot of stress or an unhealthy diet. The severity of an infectious disease is not the same in all patients. Why this is so could possibly be related to the timing of the infection, as British researchers have discovered.
While all humans are exposed daily to countless pathogens, some become ill, others do not. The severity of an infectious disease is not the same in all patients. This could be the timing of the infection responsible. (Image: leungchopan / fotolia.com) Time of infection affects severity of a disease
The team of scientists found that the time of day plays an important role in the severity of a viral infection. Their study shows that herpesviruses multiply dramatically faster in mice when the animals become infected at the beginning of their resting phase.
As the team around Professor Akhilesh Reddy of the University of Cambridge wrote in a statement from the university, the discovery may explain in part why vaccination also affects the time of day, why shift workers are susceptible to disease or why infectious diseases are more likely to occur in winter.
"Contagion at the wrong time of day could cause a much more serious acute infection," the study authors said. The results of the study were published in the Proceedings of the US National Academy of Sciences ("PNAS").
Ten times higher virus level
As the Association of Paediatricians (BVKJ) writes on its website "kinderaerzte-im-netz.de", viruses - in contrast to bacteria and parasites - depend on infiltrating a foreign cell in order to multiply. However, the cells undergo certain changes over the course of a day - the pattern they follow is also known as the "internal clock.".
The British researchers infected in their study mice with either the flu or the herpes virus. It turned out that the animals that came in contact with the viruses in the morning had a ten times higher virus level than those who became infected in the evening. "The virus's attempt to take over a factory after all the workers went home was a failure," said Professor Akhilesh Reddy in an interview with the BBC. The time of day makes a big difference. For example, it could play a role in pandemics as to whether people stayed at home during the day.
Why do certain diseases occur more frequently in winter??
About ten percent of genes change their activity depending on the "internal clock" during the day and thus the instructions they give to the body. According to the BVKJ, the scientists concentrated on a gene that determines this internal clock, the Bmal1.
This gene shows the highest activity in the afternoon in both mice and humans. In the morning, when living organisms are particularly susceptible to infection, the activity is the least. Even in the winter months, the gene shows less activity in humans - possibly an explanation why people are more prone to infections in this season. But there could be other explanations for that.
For example, Cambridge University scientists reported last year in the journal Nature Communications that our immune system is changing with the seasons. According to the experts, their discovery offers a possible explanation for the fact that certain diseases occur more often or worse in winter and that people tend to stay healthy during the summer months.
Influenza vaccine in the morning more effective
According to the authors of the study, the results of the current study could also explain why shift workers whose body clock is disturbed are susceptible to chronic diseases, possibly also to viral diseases. In addition, the effectiveness of vaccinations may depend on the time of day. This was pointed out recently by a study of people over the age of 65.
The team led by Anna Phillips of the University of Birmingham, UK, had reported in the journal "Vaccine" that flu shots in the morning, compared to those in the afternoon, boosted the production of antibodies within one month. (Ad)