title: Day-night variations in melatonin secretion by the pineal gland during febrile and epileptic convulsions in children.
abstract: The pineal gland is a complex neuroendocrine organ with pronounced effects on central nervous system activity. Because previous studies in animals and humans have suggested an anticonvulsant role for the pineal hormone melatonin, we studied the day-night variations in plasma melatonin in normal children and children with febrile or epileptic convulsions. We found significant changes in day-night melatonin levels during convulsions, consistent with the hypothesis that melatonin has an inhibitory function on central nervous system activity.
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Investigacion Subnormalidad y Desarrollo Infantil, Hospital Universitario de Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Molina-Carballo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Muñóz-Hoyos
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Cabezas
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Acuña-Castroviejo
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008550:Melatonin / Q000097:blood*; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000502:physiology; D010870:Pineal Gland / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012016:Reference Values; D003294:Seizures, Febrile / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis
chemical_list: D008550:Melatonin