title: Measurement of melatonin in blood by radioimmunoassay. Analytical considerations and clinical usefulness.
abstract: Melatonin assay has proved to be clinically useful for the diagnosis and investigation of several diseases (e.g., Cushing's syndrome, depressive disorders). We have evaluated the analytical performance of a radioimmunoassay for the determination of melatonin in plasma. The interference of some anticoagulants has been investigated, as well as the preliminary extraction of the hormone using a liquid-liquid and a solid-phase extraction method. The variation coefficients of the assay, within and between runs, were between 3.8% and 9.2% and between 4.1% and 10.5%, respectively. The well-documented circadian rhythm of melatonin secretion was confirmed in our healthy subjects. Preliminary results appear to confirm the significance of melatonin measurement in neurosurgical patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Biochemistry, University of Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Plebani
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Masiero
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Burlina
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Chiozza
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scanarini
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Burlina
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000925:Anticoagulants; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008550:Melatonin / Q000097:blood* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000097:blood*; D011863:Radioimmunoassay / Q000379:methods; D012016:Reference Values
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants; D015415:Biomarkers; D008550:Melatonin