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Effects of melatonin on vascular reactivity, catecholamine levels, and blood pressure in healthy men

1999; Elsevier BV; Volume: 83; Issue: 9 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s0002-9149(99)00112-5

1879-1913

Serenella Arangino, Angelo Cagnacci, Marco Angiolucci, Anna Maria Beatrice Vacca, Giorgio Longu, Annibale Volpe, Gian Benedetto Melis,

Circadian rhythm and melatonin

The cardiovascular system shows a diurnal rhythm of activity, shown by the nocturnal decrease of blood pressure (BP) 1 Miller-Craig M.W Bishop C.N Raftery E.B Circadian variation of blood pressure. Lancet. 1978; 1: 795-797 Abstract PubMed Scopus (1126) Google Scholar and catecholamine levels. 2 Linsell C.R Lightman S.L Mullen P.E Brown M.J Causon R.C Circadian rhythms of epinephrine and norepinephrine in man. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1985; 60: 1210-1215 Crossref PubMed Scopus (344) Google Scholar Nocturnal cardiovascular blunting is important for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, 3 Myers M.G Twenty-four-hour blood pressure control a brief review of aspects of target organ protection. J Hypertens. 1996; 14: s7-s10 Google Scholar whereas the morning period is strictly linked to the peak frequency of cardiovascular accidents. 4 Muller J.E Tofler G.H Stone P.H Circadian variation and trigger onset of acute cardiovascular disease. Circulation. 1989; 79: 733-743 Crossref PubMed Scopus (1237) Google Scholar Melatonin, which is secreted almost exclusively at night, 5 Reiter R.J Pineal melatonin cell biology of its synthesis and of its physiological interactions. Endocr Rev. 1991; 12: 151-180 Crossref PubMed Scopus (2080) Google Scholar influences several endocrine and biologic functions. 6 Cagnacci A Melatonin in relation to physiology in adult humans. J Pineal Res. 1996; 21: 200-213 Crossref PubMed Scopus (146) Google Scholar A possible link between melatonin and circulation is suggested by 2 pieces of evidence. First, the nocturnal increase of melatonin seems to show an inverse temporal relation with the decrease of cardiovascular activity. 5 Reiter R.J Pineal melatonin cell biology of its synthesis and of its physiological interactions. Endocr Rev. 1991; 12: 151-180 Crossref PubMed Scopus (2080) Google Scholar , 6 Cagnacci A Melatonin in relation to physiology in adult humans. J Pineal Res. 1996; 21: 200-213 Crossref PubMed Scopus (146) Google Scholar Second, in rats, melatonin and the pineal gland are able to prevent ischemia and/or reperfusion-induced heart arrhythmias, 7 Tan D.X Manchester L.C Reiter R.J Qi W Kim S.J El-Sokkary G Ischemia/reperfusion-induced arrhythmias in the isolated rat heart prevention by melatonin. J Pineal Res. 1998; 25: 184-191 Crossref PubMed Scopus (183) Google Scholar influence the control of BP, 8 Chuang J.I Chen S.S Lin M.T Melatonin decreases brain serotonin release, arterial pressure and heart rate in rats. Pharmacology. 1993; 47: 91-97 Crossref PubMed Scopus (91) Google Scholar , 9 Zanoboni A Zanoboni-Muciaccia W Experimental hypertension in pinealectomized rats. Life Sci. 1967; 6: 2327-2331 Crossref PubMed Scopus (80) Google Scholar regulate blood flow to the brain, 10 Capsoni S Stankov B.M Fraschini F Reduction of regional cerebral blood flow by melatonin in young rats. Neuroreport. 1995; 6: 1346-1348 Crossref PubMed Scopus (58) Google Scholar and modify peripheral artery responsiveness to norepinephrine. 11 Viswanathan M Laitinen J.T Saavedra J.M Expression of melatonin receptors in arteries involved in thermoregulation. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 1990; 87: 6200-6203 Crossref PubMed Scopus (204) Google Scholar In this study it was investigated whether melatonin may have a direct influence in the control of the cardiovascular system of healthy men.