Les applications medicales de la chronobiologie se sont developpees des la caracterisation des proprietes des rythmes biologiques et la quantification de leurs parametres. L'association de chronobiologie medicale a notamment ete a l'origine de la formation du Chronotherapy Group de l'European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer, le premier groupe cooperateur etudiant les implications des rythmes pour le traitement des cancers humains. Parallelement, les mecanismes moleculaires des rythmes et leur coordination centrale ont ete mis en evidence, laissant entrevoir la generalisation du role de l'organisation circadienne et de ses perturbations en physiopathologie et en therapeutique.
The medical applications of chronobiology have been developed since the properties of biological rhythms were characterized and their parameters were quantified. In particular, the ''Association de Chronobiologie Medicale'' has played a major role in the creation of the Chronotherapy Group of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer, the first cooperative group which investigates the clinical relevance of rhythms for cancer processes and treatments worldwide. In parallel, the molecular mechanisms which generate the cellular rhythms and the hypothalamic clock which coordinate them have been unravelled. We expect that the integration of these new basic findings into clinical chronobiology research will greatly improve the understanding of many physiopathology processes and result in more active treatment schedules for many diseases.