Sunlight can influence the breakdown of medicines in the body

Sunlight can influence the breakdown of medicines in the body

The body’s ability to break down medicines may be closely related to exposure to sunlight, new research suggests. (Credit: iStockphoto/Michiel De Boer)

From the March 9 Science Daily item

ScienceDaily (Mar. 9, 2011) — A study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet has shown that the body’s ability to break down medicines may be closely related to exposure to sunlight, and thus may vary with the seasons. The findings offer a completely new model to explain individual differences in the effects of drugs, and how the surroundings can influence the body’s ability to deal with toxins.

The study will be published in the scientific journal Drug Metabolism & Disposition and is based on nearly 70,000 analyses from patients who have undergone regular monitoring of the levels of drugs in their blood.