Nevertheless, elucidating the mechanism underlying the putative relationship between mitochondrial homeostasis, the circadian clock, and neurodegeneration will help establishing whether a cause-effect relationship exists between the circadian and mitochondrial defective phenotypes observed in patients with neurodegenerative diseases, and if treating circadian disturbance in patients with neurodegenerative diseases may have therapeutic implication. The gene discussed is CLOCK; the disease is neurodegenerative disease.