Monteleone P, Natale M, La Rocca A, Maj M
Institute of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Second University of Naples, Italy.
Neuropsychobiology. 1997;36(4):159-63. doi: 10.1159/000119377.
To evaluate the biosynthetic activity of the pineal gland in schizophrenia, the circadian rhythm of plasma melatonin was investigated in 9 drug-free chronic schizophrenics and in matched healthy subjects. In 7 of the patients, the 24-hour secretory pattern of the pineal hormone was reassessed after 10 weeks of treatment with antipsychotic drugs. In drug-free schizophrenics, the nocturnal increase in plasma melatonin levels was significantly blunted as compared to healthy subjects (p < 0.0001). Chronic treatment with antipsychotic drugs significantly improved psychotic symptomatology, but did not change the secretory pattern of melatonin. These data show that the biosynthetic activity of the pineal gland is impaired in chronic schizophrenia and that successful treatment with antipsychotic drugs does not go parallel with changes in the production of melatonin.
为评估精神分裂症患者松果体的生物合成活性，对9名未服用药物的慢性精神分裂症患者及相匹配的健康受试者的血浆褪黑素昼夜节律进行了研究。其中7名患者在接受抗精神病药物治疗10周后，对松果体激素的24小时分泌模式进行了重新评估。与健康受试者相比，未服用药物的精神分裂症患者血浆褪黑素水平的夜间升高明显减弱（p < 0.0001）。抗精神病药物的长期治疗显著改善了精神病症状，但并未改变褪黑素的分泌模式。这些数据表明，慢性精神分裂症患者松果体的生物合成活性受损，抗精神病药物的成功治疗与褪黑素生成的变化并不平行。
