- Email: [email protected]
Circadian rhythm of plasma melatonin and cortisol in endogenous depression
1460
D33 CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS IN CHRONIC INSOMNIA. James MacFarlane, John M. Cleghorn, Gregory M. Brown, Ronald Kaplan, Peter J. Brown and J. Mitton. Departments of Psvchiatrv and Neurosciences, Brain and Behaviour Research Procramme, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Circadian rhythms of core temperature, melatonin and cortisol were studied in eight patients with chronic insomnia and eight age and sexmatched controls between the ages of 25 and 65 years over two nights and the intervening day. Temperature was recorded every hour by a tympanic thermister. Six daytime blood samples were collected at four-hour intervals from the median cubital vein. A sample at 0400 hours was never drawn in order to avoid any extraneous sleep disturbance. Cortisol and melatonln were determined by radioimmunoassay. The pattern of temperature change over time differed in the patients as compared to controls (F=3.21, P<.O186). Insomniac patient sleep EEG data showed significantly less total sleep time (p<.OO4); %REM (p<.O2); %NREM (p<.O2), and longer sleep latency (p<.O5). Ultradian rises in temperature were associated with interruptions in sleep. Two patients' sleep and temperature rhythms were uncoupled and the temperature rhythm had very low amplitude. Three patients showed either phase delay or advance and their sleep complaints reflected this. There was a significant interaction between the two groups with the pattern of change over time in plasma melatonin (F=3.21, p<.OlOSf. Six of the eight patients had detectable and variable levels of melatonin during the daytime. There were no significant differences between the groups' plasma cortisol level changes over time. The fact that both temperature and melatonin rhythms showed disruption provides strong evidence of abnormalities of processes regulating circadian rhythms in these patients.
D34 CIRCADIAN RHYTHM OF PLASMA MELATONIN AND CORTISOL IN ENDOGENOUS DEPRESSION. N.P.V. Nair$ N. Hariharasubramanian, C. Pilapi 1, Douglas Hospital Research Centre & McGill University, 6875 LaSalle Blvd., Verdun, Que. Canada H4H lR3 The presentation reports the preliminary findings of an ongoing study of the circadian rhythms of plasma melatonin and cortisol in endogenous depression. Four depressive men (age: 30-66 years), five normal men 18-30 years and five normal men 50-70 years were studied. Blood samples were obtained every 4 hours with additional sampling at 02:OO hours. Plasma melatonin was estimated by radioi~unoassay (RIA), employing the method and antiserum (R 158/Aug.76) developed by Gregory Brown, and plasma cortisol, using the RIA kit from New England Nuclear Corporation. THE
RESULTS
PEAK LEVELS
CATEGORY
TIME
Normal Men 18-30 yrs Normal Men SO-70 yrs Depressives, pre-treatment
02~00 04:oo 24:00
OF MELATONIN Mean f S.D. (pg/ml)
139.08 97.49 51.27
f 25.35 f 16.27 i: 18.79
PEAK LEVELS OF CORTISOL Mean t S.D. TIME (vg/lOO ml) 08:oo 08:oo 04:OO”
12.3 10.1 30.5
+ 2.49 f 1.78 + 7.14’:
“Levels not significantly higher than those at 02:OO (19.5 + 3) and at 08:oo (22 f 4.32). The presentation will discuss the implications of (I) the “shift tothe left” of the melatonin peak (2) the altered phase relation between melatonin and cortisol, in terms of possible changes in the functioning of the X and Y pacemaker systems. The presentation will also include findings after therapy of these and other patients under study. This study was supported by the Medical Research Counci I of Canada.
D33 CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS IN CHRONIC INSOMNIA. James MacFarlane, John M. Cleghorn, Gregory M. Brown, Ronald Kaplan, Peter J. Brown and J. Mitton. Departments of Psvchiatrv and Neurosciences, Brain and Behaviour Research Procramme, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Circadian rhythms of core temperature, melatonin and cortisol were studied in eight patients with chronic insomnia and eight age and sexmatched controls between the ages of 25 and 65 years over two nights and the intervening day. Temperature was recorded every hour by a tympanic thermister. Six daytime blood samples were collected at four-hour intervals from the median cubital vein. A sample at 0400 hours was never drawn in order to avoid any extraneous sleep disturbance. Cortisol and melatonln were determined by radioimmunoassay. The pattern of temperature change over time differed in the patients as compared to controls (F=3.21, P<.O186). Insomniac patient sleep EEG data showed significantly less total sleep time (p<.OO4); %REM (p<.O2); %NREM (p<.O2), and longer sleep latency (p<.O5). Ultradian rises in temperature were associated with interruptions in sleep. Two patients' sleep and temperature rhythms were uncoupled and the temperature rhythm had very low amplitude. Three patients showed either phase delay or advance and their sleep complaints reflected this. There was a significant interaction between the two groups with the pattern of change over time in plasma melatonin (F=3.21, p<.OlOSf. Six of the eight patients had detectable and variable levels of melatonin during the daytime. There were no significant differences between the groups' plasma cortisol level changes over time. The fact that both temperature and melatonin rhythms showed disruption provides strong evidence of abnormalities of processes regulating circadian rhythms in these patients.
D34 CIRCADIAN RHYTHM OF PLASMA MELATONIN AND CORTISOL IN ENDOGENOUS DEPRESSION. N.P.V. Nair$ N. Hariharasubramanian, C. Pilapi 1, Douglas Hospital Research Centre & McGill University, 6875 LaSalle Blvd., Verdun, Que. Canada H4H lR3 The presentation reports the preliminary findings of an ongoing study of the circadian rhythms of plasma melatonin and cortisol in endogenous depression. Four depressive men (age: 30-66 years), five normal men 18-30 years and five normal men 50-70 years were studied. Blood samples were obtained every 4 hours with additional sampling at 02:OO hours. Plasma melatonin was estimated by radioi~unoassay (RIA), employing the method and antiserum (R 158/Aug.76) developed by Gregory Brown, and plasma cortisol, using the RIA kit from New England Nuclear Corporation. THE
RESULTS
PEAK LEVELS
CATEGORY
TIME
Normal Men 18-30 yrs Normal Men SO-70 yrs Depressives, pre-treatment
02~00 04:oo 24:00
OF MELATONIN Mean f S.D. (pg/ml)
139.08 97.49 51.27
f 25.35 f 16.27 i: 18.79
PEAK LEVELS OF CORTISOL Mean t S.D. TIME (vg/lOO ml) 08:oo 08:oo 04:OO”
12.3 10.1 30.5
+ 2.49 f 1.78 + 7.14’:
“Levels not significantly higher than those at 02:OO (19.5 + 3) and at 08:oo (22 f 4.32). The presentation will discuss the implications of (I) the “shift tothe left” of the melatonin peak (2) the altered phase relation between melatonin and cortisol, in terms of possible changes in the functioning of the X and Y pacemaker systems. The presentation will also include findings after therapy of these and other patients under study. This study was supported by the Medical Research Counci I of Canada.