The seasonal interrelationship between melatonin, vasopressin, and serum osmolality in elderly subjects

Abstract: Plasma concentration of arginine vasopressin (AVP) and melatonin and serum osmolality were measured at noon and at midnight in individuals living in the northern hemisphere on March 22–23, June 13–14, September 26–27, and December 12–13 in 35 healthy volunteers (15 men and 20 women) aged 60–74 years. The nocturnal increase in melatonin was highest in the autumn and lowest in the winter in both sexes. The midnight serum osmolality level was lower in the autumn than in any other time of the year. In both the men and the women the AVP level was higher in winter than in any other season (P < 0.01 and P < 0.0001, respectively). In men, the AVP level was higher at noon than at midnight in 49% of the investigated 24 hr periods, at the same level in 15% and lower in 36% (NS). The corresponding figures for women were 55%, 25%, and 20%, respectively (P < 0.05). This study suggests a possible relationship between melatonin and serum osmolality.

[1]  E. Bojanowska,et al.  Effects of Methylphenidate on Oxytocin and Vasopressin Levels in Pinealectomized Rats During Light–Dark Cycle , 1997, Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior.

[2]  M. Juszczak,et al.  Hypothalamic and Neurohypophysial Vasopressin and Oxytocin in Melatonin‐Treated Pinealectomized Male Rats , 1988, Journal of pineal research.

[3]  M. Forsling,et al.  Mechanisms of Melatonin Inhibition of Neurohypophysial Hormone Release From the Rat Hypothalamus In Vitro , 1998, Brain Research Bulletin.

[4]  M. Hofman,et al.  Alterations in circadian rhythmicity of the vasopressin-producing neurons of the human suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) with aging , 1994, Brain Research.

[5]  R. Asplund,et al.  Diurnal variation in the levels of antidiuretic hormone in the elderly , 1991, Journal of internal medicine.

[6]  C. Marchesi,et al.  Effect of melatonin on hypoglycemia and metoclopramide-stimulated arginine vasopressin secretion in normal men , 1997, Neuropeptides.

[7]  S. Athar,et al.  The osmoregulation of vasopressin. , 1976, Kidney international.

[8]  R. Moore,et al.  Loss of a circadian adrenal corticosterone rhythm following suprachiasmatic lesions in the rat. , 1972, Brain research.

[9]  D. Caspari,et al.  Inappropriate vasopressin secretion in severe alcohol withdrawal , 1992, Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica.

[10]  O. Pomerleau.  Nicotine and the central nervous system: biobehavioral effects of cigarette smoking. , 1992, The American journal of medicine.

[11]  A. Gyory,et al.  Arginine Vasopressin and Osmolality in the Elderly , 1994, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

[12]  A. Kalsbeek,et al.  Vasopressin and vasoactive intestinal peptide infused in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus elevate plasma melatonin levels , 1993, Journal of pineal research.

[13]  A. Cowley,et al.  Sex Differences in the Endocrine Predictors of Essential Hypertension: Vasopressin Versus Renin , 1985, Hypertension.

[14]  R. Reiter,et al.  Melatonin rhythms in Arctic urban residents , 1994, Journal of pineal research.

[15]  F. Turek.  Circadian neural rhythms in mammals. , 1985, Annual review of physiology.

[16]  M. Forsling,et al.  The Effect of Pinealectomy on Osmotically Stimulated Vasopressin and Oxytocin Release and Fos Protein Production within the Hypothalamus of the Rat , 1996, Journal of neuroendocrinology.

[17]  G. Norbiato,et al.  Osmotic and nonosmotic control of vasopressin release in the elderly: effect of metoclopramide. , 1987, The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism.

[18]  H. M. Murphy,et al.  The interaction of vasopressin and the photic oscillator in circadian rhythms , 1996, Peptides.

[19]  L. Wetterberg,et al.  Seasonal changes in the levels of antidiuretic hormone and melatonin in the elderly , 1995, Journal of pineal research.

[20]  J. Meijer,et al.  Neurophysiology of the suprachiasmatic circadian pacemaker in rodents. , 1989, Physiological reviews.

[21]  L. Wetterberg,et al.  A simplified radioimmunoassay for melatonin and its application to biological fluids. Preliminary observations on the half-life of plasma melatonin in man. , 1978, Clinica chimica acta; international journal of clinical chemistry.

[22]  I. Zucker,et al.  Neural regulation of circadian rhythms. , 1979, Physiological reviews.

[23]  E. H. Studier,et al.  Effects of melatonin on water metabolism and renal function in male Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) , 1992, Journal of pineal research.