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Melatonin Rhythms in Seasonal Affective Disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

S. A. Checkley ,
D. G. M. Murphy ,
M. Abbas ,
M. Marks ,
F. Winton ,
E. Palazidou ,
D. M. Murphy ,
C. Franey ,
C. Binme  and
J. Arendt
...Show all authors
S. A. Checkley
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, London SES 8AF
D. G. M. Murphy*
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Neurosciences, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
M. Abbas
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry
M. Marks
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry
F. Winton
Affiliation:
Peter Hodgkinson Centre, County Hospital, Lincoln
E. Palazidou
Affiliation:
Royal London Hospital
D. M. Murphy
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital Medical School, London
C. Franey
Affiliation:
Department of Biochemistry, University of Surrey, Guildford
C. Binme
Affiliation:
Bethlem Royal and Maudsley Hospitals, London
J. Arendt
Affiliation:
Department of Biochemistry, University of Surrey, Guildford
D. Campos Costa
Affiliation:
Bethlem Royal and Maudsley Hospitals, London
*
∗Building 10, Room 6C 414, Laboratory of Neurosciences, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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Abstract

We examined 24-hour melatonin rhythms from 20 patients with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and 20 healthy volunteers. Patients and controls were individually matched for age, sex, and month of study. Plasma samples were taken at hourly intervals, and were assayed for melatonin by radio-immunoassay. The 24-hourly melatonin estimations for each individual were fitted to a cosine curve, and the significance of the curve fits was calculated. Two analyses were performed. In analysis 1 the following were calculated: (a) cosine fit, (b) significance of fits, (c) mean amplitude and acrophase (peak) and (d) mean melatonin levels. The curve fits were highly significant for all but three subjects (two patients, one control), but there were no significant differences in any measure between the two groups. In analysis 2 the comparisons were repeated and restricted to the 18 patients and 19 controls in whom there was a statistically significant melatonin rhythm. Again there were no significant differences between groups. These results suggest that the circadian rhythm of melatonin is not abnormal in SAD, and that the therapeutic effect of light in SAD is not mediated by phase shifts in melatonin secretion.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 163 , Issue 3 , September 1993 , pp. 332 - 337
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1993 

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