title: Peripheral heat loss: a predictor of the hypothermic response to melatonin administration in young and older women.
abstract: Core hypothermia following daytime melatonin administration typically displays significant interindividual variability. As this hypothermia has been associated with significant increases in skin temperature, the mechanism by which melatonin decreases core temperature may involve increasing peripheral heat loss. If so, the interindividual variability in this effect may reflect concomitant interindividual variability in heat loss capacity at the distal periphery. For six younger (mean +/- SEM: 23.4 +/- 0.3 years) and 10 older women (mean +/- SEM: 65.6 +/- 0.7 years), the maximum decrease in core body temperature following a 5-mg (p.o.) dose of melatonin was correlated with the capacity to lose heat. This was determined by the maximum increase in contralateral hand temperature following a mild positive thermal challenge (PTC). The regression analysis yielded a significant (p < 0.01) correlation of 0.80, suggesting that the individual magnitude of hypothermia following melatonin administration may reflect the capacity of an individual to dissipate heat at the distal periphery.
authors.affiliation: The University of South Australia, Centre for Sleep Research, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Gilbert
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: van den Heuvel
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Kennaway
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dawson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000187:drug effects*; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D008550:Melatonin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D008550:Melatonin