It has been demonstrated that type II iodothyronine deiodinase is present in rat pineal gland, and the deiodinase activity markedly increases during the hours of darkness, primarily through beta-adrenergic mechanism. We have studied the relationship between pineal type II iodothyronine deiodinase messenger RNA (mRNA) and the deiodinase activity to elucidate the mechanisms involved in the noctur...

Relatively little is known about the effects of melatonin on the aging of the pineal, the organ which is the main place for synthesis of this hormone. Using simple morphometric methods, some parameters of the pineal gland, such as total volume, number of pinealocytes and pinealocyte volume were estimated in two mice strains: normal CBA and melatonin-deficient C57BL/6J. Two age groups, 6 weeks a...

Circadian rhythms in body temperature, locomotor activity, and the circadian changes of plasma and pineal melatonin content were investigated in B6D2F(1) mice synchronized by 12 h of light and 12 h of darkness. During 8 wk continuous recording, activity and temperature displayed a marked stable and reproducible circadian rhythm, with both peaks occurring near the middle of darkness. Both 24- an...

Clinical studies have demonstrated an altered pineal function in cancer patients. Owing to the documented antineoplastic activity of the pineal gland, these anomalies could have a prognostic significance. This study was carried out to monitor the effect of higher blood levels of melatonin, the most important pineal hormone, which could be applied in relation to the response to chemotherapy in h...

nowadays immunochemical techniques have played a very important and valuable role in quantitative and qualitative assays of liquid compounds of the body. producing antibody against immunogenes is the first step to make immunochemical kits. in this study production and purification of polyclonal antibody against melatonin has been considered. this hormone which has several important functions in...

To cite: Yang Y, Levy ML, Crawford JR. BMJ Case Rep Published online: [please include Day Month Year] doi:10.1136/bcr-2015214170 DESCRIPTION A 4-year-old girl presented with a 4-month history of progressive exotropia. There was no headache, no impaired upgaze, no nystagmus and no vision changes. Complete neurological examination was otherwise normal. MRI of the brain revealed a 1.5 cm cystic le...

OBJECT Surgical indications for patients with pineal cysts are controversial. While the majority of patients harboring a pineal cyst require no treatment, surgery is a well-accepted option for a subset of those patients with secondary hydrocephalus or Parinaud's syndrome. The majority of pineal cysts are identified incidentally during workup for other potential conditions, which may or may not ...

H UMAN pineal gland calcification, which was reported in autopsy specimens about 300 years ago, was first described in the plain skull roentgenogram in 1918 by Sch#{252}ller,’6 who remarked that the gland “very often shows a calcium deposit from the third decade and occasionally even in children.” Subsequent workers confirmed Sch#{252}ller’s observation and established the influence of age on t...