TY - JOUR
T1 - Influence of sympathectomy in humans on the rhythmicity of 6-sulphatoxymelatonin urinary excretion
AU - Møller, Morten
AU - Osgaard, Ole
AU - Grønbech-Jensen, Michael
N1 - Keywords: Adult; Circadian Rhythm; Female; Ganglia, Spinal; Humans; Hyperhidrosis; Male; Melatonin; Middle Aged; Sympathectomy
PY - 2006
Y1 - 2006
N2 - The amount of 6-sulphatoxymelatonin, the chief metabolite of melatonin, in the urine was measured in nine patients, who were subjected to bilateral sympathectomy at the second thoracic ganglionic level for treatment of hyperhidrosis of the palms. All patients showed before surgery a normal 6-sulphatoxymelatonin excretion with a peak in the excretion during the night time. After the sympathectomy, the high night time excretion was clearly abolished in five patients but remained high in four patients. This indicates that the segmental locations of the preganglionic sympathetic perikarya in the spinal cord, stimulating the melatonin secretion in the pineal gland in humans, vary between individuals. An increase in daytime melatonin excretion was observed in the patients responding to the sympathectomy with an abolished 6-sulphatoxymelatonin rhythm. This increase could indicate that the final sympathetic neurons innervating the pineal gland might have a both stimulatory and inhibitory function.
AB - The amount of 6-sulphatoxymelatonin, the chief metabolite of melatonin, in the urine was measured in nine patients, who were subjected to bilateral sympathectomy at the second thoracic ganglionic level for treatment of hyperhidrosis of the palms. All patients showed before surgery a normal 6-sulphatoxymelatonin excretion with a peak in the excretion during the night time. After the sympathectomy, the high night time excretion was clearly abolished in five patients but remained high in four patients. This indicates that the segmental locations of the preganglionic sympathetic perikarya in the spinal cord, stimulating the melatonin secretion in the pineal gland in humans, vary between individuals. An increase in daytime melatonin excretion was observed in the patients responding to the sympathectomy with an abolished 6-sulphatoxymelatonin rhythm. This increase could indicate that the final sympathetic neurons innervating the pineal gland might have a both stimulatory and inhibitory function.
U2 - 10.1016/j.mce.2006.03.023
DO - 10.1016/j.mce.2006.03.023
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 16647807
SN - 0303-7207
VL - 252
SP - 40
EP - 45
JO - Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology
JF - Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology
IS - 1-2
ER -