Melatonin
production in patients with duodenal ulcer
by Nadezshda
K. Malinovskaya,
Fedor I. Komarov,
Semen I. Rapoport,
Lidia A. Voznesenskaya & Lennart Wetterberg
Keywords:
duodenal ulcer, exacerbation,
remission, urinary melatonin
Submitted: October 24, 2000
Accepted: January 14, 2001
Abstract:
OBJECTIVES.
This work was designed to study melatonin (M) production levels
in duodenal ulcer (DU) patients in the exacerbation and remission
stages and in DU patients with a different course of DU in
the exacerbation and remission stages.
METHODS: DU patients (15 men aged 20 to 45, mean age 34,2
± 1,1 years) were studied. The control group included
11 healthy volunteers (men aged 20–45, mean age 32,5
± 1,4 years). M was measured by RIA - method using
H3–labeled M in daily urine collected at 3-hour intervals
(8 portions per day). Mathematical processing was carried
out using ANOVA, Student’s t-test, and cosinor analysis.
Differences at p £ 0,05 were considered to be significant.
RESULTS: A strong disturbance of M secretion in DU patients
both in the exacerbation and remission stages and a direct
correlation between the degree of M production disturbance
and severity of clinical course of DU were revealed.
CONCLUSION: The obtained results suggest that circadian rhythms
of M production are altered in DU patients. M was supposed
to be involved in the pathogenesis of DU.
