Chronotherapy (treatment scheduling)

Chronotherapy (treatment scheduling)
Intervention
MeSH	D019454

Chronotherapy refers to the use of circadian or other rhythmic cycles in the application of therapy. Examples of this are treatments of psychiatric and somatic diseases that are administered according to a schedule that corresponds to a person's rhythms in order to maximize effectiveness and minimize side effects of the therapy.^[1]

Chronotherapy is used in different fields, examples of this are the treatment of asthma,^[2][3] cancer, hypertension,^[4] and multiple types of depression, among others seasonal affective disorder and bipolar disorder. Apart from the clinical applications, chronotherapy is becoming increasingly popular in non-clinical settings, for example on the work floor, where it is used to increase productivity and performance.

Methods of chronotherapy

Methods of pharmaceutical chronotherapy

• Imitative/Mimetic: Imitating the natural changes in a certain substance in the body.
• Preventive/Precautionary: Taking medicines at the moment that they are most necessary, for example taking hypertension medicine at the time of day that the blood pressure is rising.
• Wake therapy

See also

• Personalized medicine

References

1. "Dictionary Definition".
2. "Chronotherapy of asthma with inhaled steroids: The effect of dosage timing on drug efficacy".
3. "Further studies on the chronotherapy of asthma with inhaled steroids: The effect of dosage timing on drug efficacy".
4. "Circadian variation of blood pressure: The basis for the chronotherapy of sleeping disorders, hypertension".