[Circadian blood serotonin and melatonin level in anorexia nervosa patients in comparison with normally menstruating women].

Day and night rhythms of melatonin and serotonin were measured in four female anorexia nervosa patients and for comparison in a control group with normal 28-day menstrual cycle. In the anorexia nervosa group the levels of gonadotropins and sexual steroids were distinctly lowered. In the LHRH test the hormonal profile showed pubertal to prepubertal patterns of secretion with an only moderate increase of LH and distinct shifting of the LH/FSH ratio in direction of FSH. For both groups the 24-hour profiles of melatonin and serotonin showed a normal cycle, i.e. melatonin had its maximum by night, whereas serotonin in contrast displayed its highest values by day. However, in the group of patients with anorexia nervosa the maximum of melatonin was on the average 2.1 fold higher than that found in the control group, whereas that of serotonin was 1.4 fold higher. A close functional coherence between the neurotransmitters melatonin and serotonin and the hypothalamic secretion of LHRH is being discussed.