-transparent.png){kind=logo}
Involvement of melatonin in the blood pressure regulation as an endogenous central hypotensive factor has been suggested in rats and in man. We studied the relationship between melatonin and the development of hypertension in 5- and 15-week-old spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) and normotensive Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats, by measuring serum and the pineal concentrations with a sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay coupled with a novel extraction method. Serum melatonin concentration at midnight in young SHR rats was significantly higher than that in age-matched WKY rats (P less than 0.01), whereas it was decreased in the adult SHR (P less than 0.01). No such differences were observed at noon. Pineal content of melatonin at midnight in 5-week-old SHR rats was lower than in age-matched WKY rats (P less than 0.01). These data demonstrate that melatonin in the nocturnal serum of SHR rats is elevated at prehypertensive stage while it is decreased after the development of hypertension. The role of melatonin in the hypertensive process in SHR rats requires further study.
K Kawashima, and
A Nagakura, and
R J Wurzburger, and
S Spector
June 1990,
American journal of hypertension,
K Kawashima, and
A Nagakura, and
R J Wurzburger, and
S Spector
December 1992,
Neuroendocrinology,
K Kawashima, and
A Nagakura, and
R J Wurzburger, and
S Spector
January 1984,
The Journal of experimental zoology,
K Kawashima, and
A Nagakura, and
R J Wurzburger, and
S Spector
November 1990,
Clinical science (London, England : 1979),
K Kawashima, and
A Nagakura, and
R J Wurzburger, and
S Spector
August 1972,
Experientia,
K Kawashima, and
A Nagakura, and
R J Wurzburger, and
S Spector
January 1993,
The American journal of physiology,
K Kawashima, and
A Nagakura, and
R J Wurzburger, and
S Spector
November 1984,
Neuroendocrinology,
K Kawashima, and
A Nagakura, and
R J Wurzburger, and
S Spector
January 1975,
Experientia,
K Kawashima, and
A Nagakura, and
R J Wurzburger, and
S Spector
September 2013,
European review for medical and pharmacological sciences,
K Kawashima, and
A Nagakura, and
R J Wurzburger, and
S Spector
January 1990,
Progress in clinical and biological research,
