Dementia--the failure of hippocampal plasticity and dreams. Is there a preventative role for melatonin?
Anatomic, chemical, physiologic, pathologic and clinical evidence suggests that senile dementia (Alzheimer's disease) is a dysfunction of the hippocampus. Failure of hippocampal plasticity could be secondary to loss of input from the medial septal nucleus and/or locus ceruleus or due to a functional abnormality. When compared to age-matched controls, demented patients have decreased hippocampal norepinephrine and serotonin, increased hippocampal monoamine oxidase, and decreased REM sleep. These observations could be explained by a melatonin deficiency. A chronic melatonin deficiency, with loss of dreams, could cause dementia.
Maurizi
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CP
D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008550:Melatonin / Q000172:deficiency / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000502:physiology*
D008550:Melatonin