This review summarizes the involvement of centrally and peripherally applied melatonin, a major hormone of pineal gland, in the mechanism of gastric mucosal integrity, gastroprotection and ulcer healing. Melatonin was originally shown to attenuate gastric mucosal lesions but the controversy exists in the literature as to whether melatonin derived from the pineal gland, considered as the major s...

Circadian rhythm disturbances can occur as part of the clinical symptoms of major depressive disorder and have been found to resolve with antidepressant therapy. The pineal gland is relevant to circadian rhythms as it secretes the hormone melatonin following activation of the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) signaling cascade and of arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AA-NAT), the rate-lim...

Melatonin production by the pineal gland in the vertebrate brain has attracted much scientific attention. Pineal melatonin is regulated by photoperiodicity, whereas circadian secretion of melatonin produced in the gastrointestinal tract is regulated by food intake. Thus, the circadian rhythm of pineal melatonin depends upon whether a species is diurnal or nocturnal. Spinal cord injury (SCI) inv...

A large number of individuals suffer from migraine headaches. Several theories attempt to explain migraine etiology. One such theory holds that since environmental stimuli are well known to trigger migraine headaches, the pineal gland may be involved in migraine etiology. Specifically, a pineal gland irregularity may be the physical origin of migraine headaches, with subsequent physiological ch...

1. Choline acetyltransferase activity and [3H]quinuclidinyl benzylate-binding sites were detected in the pineal gland of normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats and of spontaneously hypertensive rats. 2. In vitro, muscarinic activation by pilocarpine increased the pineal metabolic production of hydroxyindole derivatives up to 5-hydroxytryptamine and produced a less marked stimulation of melatonin biosyn...

Participation of the pineal gland and melatonin in the innate immune response is part of a dynamic and intricate network that acts throughout the inflammatory response, integrating signaling pathways and regulatory processes at the molecular, cellular and organism levels. The pineal gland is a target for pathogen-associated molecular patterns and for inflammatory mediators, and melatonin, which...

Glial cysts of the pineal gland are benign and mostly asymptomatic incidental lesions found in the brain MRI or at autopsy examinations. In rare cases pineal cysts become symptomatic and require surgical intervention. Symptomatic glial cysts may be clinically and radiologically indistinguishable from cystic neoplasms of the pineal region; therefore, histopathological diagnosis is critical for f...

The potent frog skin-lightening agent “melatonin” was isolated from pineal tissue and characterized as N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine by Lerner, Case, and Takahashi (1). Recently, Axelrod and Weissbach (2), studying the biogenesis of this hormone, have shown it to be the product of a specific methylating enzyme system in the pineal gland which acts on the substrate N-acetylserotonin, a substance ...

The pineal gland is a unique organ that synthesizes melatonin as the signaling molecule of natural photoperiodic environment and as a potent neuronal protective antioxidant. An intact and functional pineal gland is necessary for preserving optimal human health. Unfortunately, this gland has the highest calcification rate among all organs and tissues of the human body. Pineal calcification jeopa...

The potent frog skin-lightening agent “melatonin” was isolated from pineal tissue and characterized as N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine by Lerner, Case, and Takahashi (1). Recently, Axelrod and Weissbach (2), studying the biogenesis of this hormone, have shown it to be the product of a specific methylating enzyme system in the pineal gland which acts on the substrate N-acetylserotonin, a substance ...