Supersensitivity to light: possible trait marker for manic-depressive illness.
Exposure to light during the night reduces plasma melatonin levels. A previous study showed that, in response to light, nighttime plasma melatonin levels fell twice as much in a group of acutely ill manic-depressive patients as in a group of normal subjects. The present study compares 11 euthymic manic-depressive patients not taking medications with 24 age- and sex-matched normal subjects. Melatonin levels in these patients also fell twice as much as the levels of the normal subjects, suggesting that supersensitivity to light may be a trait marker for bipolar affective disorder.
D000328:Adult; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000503:physiopathology; D008027:Light; D008297:Male; D008550:Melatonin / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000503:physiopathology; D012160:Retina / Q000503:physiopathology; D012621:Seasons
D008550:Melatonin