Heart failure patients often have trouble with thinking and depression.
A new study by University of Guelph researchers explains why and points to ways to prevent and treat both heart and brain maladies through the emerging field of circadian medicine.
Published recently in Nature’s Scientific Reports, the study is the first to reveal how cognition and mood in mice are regulated by the body clock and how pertinent brain regions are impaired in heart failure, said Tami Martino, a professor in U of G’s Department of Biomedical Sciences and director of the Centre for Cardiovascular Investigations.
“Neurosurgeons always look in the brain; cardiologists always look in the heart. This new study looked at both,” said Martino, whose work in the emerging field of circadian medicine is supported by funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. She recently received a Mid-Career Investigator Award from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
Read more at University of Guelph
Image: Professor Tami Martino, University of Guelph. (Credit: University of Guelph)