TY - JOUR
T1 - Melatonin in the context of the reported bioeffects of environmental electromagnetic fields
AU - Reiter, Russel J.
N1 - Funding Information:
Summary of a lecture presented at the 14th International Symposium on Bioelectrochemistry and Bioenergetics, Vingsted, Denmark, May, 1998. Work by the author was supported by grants from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). The opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily represent those of the NIEHS.
PY - 1998/11
Y1 - 1998/11
N2 - This review summarizes the results of studies which tested the possibility that the exposure of mammals to either electric fields, static or sinusoidal magnetic fields, or a combined electromagnetic field, influences the production and secretion of pineal melatonin. The endpoints measured in the reviewed experiments included the activities of the two enzymes involved in the conversion of pineal serotonin to melatonin, namely, N-acetyltransferase (NAT) and hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase (HIOMT), and pineal and serum melatonin levels. While the results are inconsistent in terms of the ability of the fields to alter melatonin synthesis and secretion, when changes did occur they virtually always involved a suppression in the levels of melatonin. When multiple endpoints were measured in a given experiment, the most consistent change was a reduction in serum levels of the indoleamine. While it has usually been assumed that melatonin synthesis is suppressed by the field exposures, it is proposed that the reduction in serum melatonin (which in some cases was not accompanied by changes in pineal melatonin production) could be a result of an increased uptake and utilization of melatonin as a free radical scavenger in animals exposed to a magnetic field. Copyright (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A.
AB - This review summarizes the results of studies which tested the possibility that the exposure of mammals to either electric fields, static or sinusoidal magnetic fields, or a combined electromagnetic field, influences the production and secretion of pineal melatonin. The endpoints measured in the reviewed experiments included the activities of the two enzymes involved in the conversion of pineal serotonin to melatonin, namely, N-acetyltransferase (NAT) and hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase (HIOMT), and pineal and serum melatonin levels. While the results are inconsistent in terms of the ability of the fields to alter melatonin synthesis and secretion, when changes did occur they virtually always involved a suppression in the levels of melatonin. When multiple endpoints were measured in a given experiment, the most consistent change was a reduction in serum levels of the indoleamine. While it has usually been assumed that melatonin synthesis is suppressed by the field exposures, it is proposed that the reduction in serum melatonin (which in some cases was not accompanied by changes in pineal melatonin production) could be a result of an increased uptake and utilization of melatonin as a free radical scavenger in animals exposed to a magnetic field. Copyright (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A.
KW - Free radicals
KW - Magnetic field exposure
KW - Melatonin
KW - N-Acetyltransferase activity
KW - Pineal gland
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U2 - 10.1016/S0302-4598(98)00152-4
DO - 10.1016/S0302-4598(98)00152-4
M3 - Conference article
AN - SCOPUS:0032214032
SN - 0302-4598
VL - 47
SP - 135
EP - 142
JO - Bioelectrochemistry and Bioenergetics
JF - Bioelectrochemistry and Bioenergetics
IS - 1
T2 - Proceedings of the 1998 14th International Symposium on Bioelectrochemistry and Bioenergetics
Y2 - 23 May 1998 through 29 May 1998
ER -