Disturbed sleep is common in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Conventional hypnotics worsen nocturnal hypoxemia and, in severe cases, can lead to respiratory failure. Exogenous melatonin has somnogenic properties in normal subjects and can improve sleep in several clinical conditions. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was carried out to determine the effects o...

Light is an important environmental factor that controls the regulation of physiological functions of organisms. Melatonin is considered as one of the major hormones that play an important role in protecting body from many harmful effects and acts as a powerful anti-oxidant source to controlling the levels of antioxidant enzymes within the body. The main objectives of this work were to study th...

The aim of this research was to assess the reactive changes of rat proximal tubules caused by gentamicin and the effect of relatively low doses of melatonin. 48 adult male Wistar rats were distributed into six groups of equal size which all received one of the following daily intraperitoneal injections: vehicle (5% ethanol in Ringer solution) during 11 days (C); gentamicin (80 mg/kg) during 8 d...

OBJECTIVE Evidence is accumulating that the nocturnal increase in melatonin may influence pituitary hormone secretion. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of exogenous melatonin, in concencetrations spanning the physiological range, on the release of pituitary hormones in man during daylight hours. DESIGN A double blind, randomized, crossover study. SUBJECTS Eight healthy male...

Several evidences supported the existence of melatonin effects on reproductive system in fish. In order to investigate whether melatonin is involved in the modulation of GnRH systems in the European sea bass, we have injected melatonin (0.5 µg/g body mass) in male specimens. The brain mRNA transcript levels of the three GnRH forms and the five GnRH receptors present in this species were determi...

When administered to humans the pineal honnone me\atonin can phase shift a number of circadian rhythms. This property has prompted the investigation of exogenous melatonin in sleep disorders known to have an underlying chronophysiological basis (i.e. circadian rhythm sleep disorders). Both in field and simulated studies of jet lag and shift work suitably timed melatonin improved sleep and, in s...