Dubousset J, Machida M
Hôpital Saint-Vincent-de-Paul-Université Réné Descartes, Département de Chirurgie orthopédique, 74-82 avenue Denfert Rochereau-75674 Paris.
Bull Acad Natl Med. 2001;185(3):593-602; discussion 602-4.
The unexpected finding in 1959 by Marie-Jeanne Thillard that pinealectomy in young chickens gives way to spinal deformities was confirmed by the authors. In another experiment they found that injected melatonine to the chick at adequate dose and at the same time as surgery, lessen or even totally prevents the occurrence of deformities. On the other hand, at too low dose or delayed after pinealectomy melatonine injection, may not prevent the deformity which will be persisting or even increasing. In a subsequent series of experiments on the rat, pinealectomy results in decreasing the plasmatic amount of melatonine as well as giving way to spinal deformities. The nature of these deformities observed here is dependent on the stature between of the animal. The normal quadrupede rat develops after pinealectomy a standard scoliosis. Inversely the scoliotic deformity occurs when the animal has been forced to a bipede condition, which may be achieved by removing its forelimbs when baby, then forcing it to stand and remain in erect posture by high enough feeding. Melatonine depressing and erect position are in two conditions, when associated, likely to give way to experimental scoliosis. In human, a low nycthemeral level of plasmatic melatonine is correlated with progressive scoliosis. The level of platelets calmoduline, when is normally modulated by melatonine, has been proved by Kindsfater to be increased in progressive scoliosis. Then raises the hypothesis that human idiopathic scoliosis may be due to an inherited disorder of neuro-transmitters from neuro-hormonal origin, associated with bipedal condition, where an horizontal localized neuro-muscular imbalance starts and produces the scoliotic deformity of the fibro-elastic and bony structures axial spinal pilar.
1959年玛丽 - 珍妮·蒂拉尔意外发现，幼年鸡的松果体切除术后会出现脊柱畸形，作者证实了这一发现。在另一项实验中，他们发现，在手术的同时给小鸡注射适量的褪黑素，可减轻甚至完全防止畸形的发生。另一方面，如果剂量过低或在松果体切除术后延迟注射褪黑素，则可能无法预防畸形，畸形会持续甚至加重。在随后对大鼠进行的一系列实验中，松果体切除导致血浆褪黑素含量降低，并出现脊柱畸形。这里观察到的这些畸形的性质取决于动物的体型。正常的四足大鼠在松果体切除术后会出现标准的脊柱侧凸。相反，当动物被迫处于双足状态时就会出现脊柱侧凸畸形，这可以通过在幼崽时切除其前肢，然后通过足够高的喂食迫使它站立并保持直立姿势来实现。褪黑素抑制和直立姿势这两种情况同时出现时，可能会导致实验性脊柱侧凸。在人类中，血浆褪黑素的昼夜水平较低与进行性脊柱侧凸相关。金德法特证实，在进行性脊柱侧凸中，通常由褪黑素调节的血小板钙调蛋白水平会升高。于是提出了这样的假设：人类特发性脊柱侧凸可能是由于神经激素来源的神经递质遗传性紊乱，与双足状态有关，在双足状态下，水平方向局部神经肌肉失衡开始出现，并导致脊柱轴向纤维弹性和骨结构的脊柱侧凸畸形。
