Pineal gland is a very important neuroendocrine organ with many physiological functions such as regulating circadian rhythm. Radiologically, the pineal gland volume is clinically important because it is usually difficult to distinguish small pineal tumors via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Although many studies have estimated the pineal gland volume using different techniques, to the best of...

Cell proliferation in the pineal body of the hooded rat was studied with thymidine-H:' autoradiography. Animals were either injected at birth and allowed to survive for variable periods or were injected at different ages and allowed to survive for a fixed period. Cell proliferation was high in the neonate (one and six hours of age) and continued at a decreasing rate into adulthood. The final de...

The properties of monoamine oxidase activity in homogenates of the iris-ciliary body, superior cervical ganglion, and pineal gland of albino rabbits have been studied. Inhibition curves using specific inhibitors support the concept of A and B enzyme forms, with the following ratios of A/B activity: iris-ciliary body, 40/60; superior cervical ganglion, 90/10; pineal gland, 13/87. Experiments on ...

Glial cysts of the pineal gland are benign and mostly asymptomatic incidental lesions found in the brain MRI or at autopsy examinations. In rare cases pineal cysts become symptomatic and require surgical intervention. Symptomatic glial cysts may be clinically and radiologically indistinguishable from cystic neoplasms of the pineal region; therefore, histopathological diagnosis is critical for f...

We reviewed 59 cases of pineal tumors and intracranial germ-cell tumors. Most pineal tumors occurred in the first three decades of life, with the exception of pineocytomas, which were seen at a mean age of 34. A male preponderance was noted in the various pineal tumors, except for pineocytomas. The most common tumor of the pineal region was germinoma, which usually showed high density with homo...

Pineal melatonin synthesis can be modulated by many peptides, including insulin. Because melatonin appears to alter leptin synthesis, in this work we aimed to investigate whether leptin would have a role on norepinephrine- (NE-)mediated melatonin synthesis in cultured rat pineal glands. According to our data, cultured rat pineal glands express leptin receptor isoform b (Ob-Rb). Pineal expressio...

PURPOSE Pineal cysts are common incidental findings during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations. The etiology of pineal cyst development is still unclear. We aimed to determine whether there is an association between periventricular leukomalacia and pineal cyst prevalence. METHODS Clinical and MRI data of 201 patients with periventricular leukomalacia (110 female, 91 male; mean age, ...

We aimed to study the mechanisms and the significance of the influence exerted by the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) on the pineal melatonin production. Pineal melatonin and other indoles were determined by HPLC with electrochemical detection after angiotensin AT1-receptor blockade with Losartan in vivo or in cultured glands. N-acetyltransferase (NAT) activity was radiometricaly measured. To te...

Background: Nicotine exposure causes impaired fertility , ovarian and uterus dysfunction. The pineal hormone melatonin is known as an antioxidant agent. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible protective role of exogen melatonin on altered ovary and endometrium with nicotine. Materials and Methods: Female adult NMRI mice were divided into four groups. The control group received ve...