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Pineal Gland Abstracts: 1990
Note: the following is a limited selection of abstracts available at PubMed, Science Direct, and Toxnet.
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From TOXNET
BIOMEDICINE & PHARMACOTHERAPY; 47 (10). 1993 (1994). 425-427.
Electromagnetic fields and male breast cancer.
Tynes T
Cancer Registry Norway, Montebello, M-0310 Oslo, NOR.
BIOSIS COPYRIGHT: BIOL ABS. The aetiology of male breast cancer is still considered to be rather unclear. Epidemiological studies have recently shown an excess risk of male breast cancer in "electrical workers" with potential exposure to electromagnetic (EM) fields. Interest on the possible association between pineal function and breast cancer has come into focus. The pineal hormone melatonin has been shown to reduce the incidence of experimentally-induced breast cancer in rats, the hormone is oncostatic and cytotoxic to breast, ovarian, and bladder cancer cell lines in vitro. Treatment of cancer patients with orally administered melatonin has been tried. Pineal function in humans is suppressed by light-at-night (LAN). Animal studies have shown that exposure to 60-Hz electric fields may also suppress the nocturnal rise in pineal melatonin production in adult rats. Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women in the industrialized world. No good explanation has so far been provide
From TOXNETSource: Extremely Low Frequency Electromagnetic Fields: The Question of Cancer, B. W. Wilson, R. G. Stevens and L. E. Anderson, Editors; Columbus, Ohio, Battelle Press, pages 159-186, 118 references, 1990
ELF Electromagnetic-Field Effects on the Pineal Gland
Wilson BW, Anderson LE
A review of the current data regarding the effects of extremely low frequency (ELF) electric and magnetic fields upon pineal gland function was presented. The investigations which were reviewed were mostly either chronobiological or neuroendocrine studies. The pineal gland was found to accept neuronal input signals which it responds to by controlling hormonal output. The pineal gland was particularly noted for its role in melatonin biosynthetic processes along with other 5-methoxy-indoles. Studies have shown that melatonin production, along with other pineal hormones exhibits circadian rhythms. The hormonal output of the pineal gland, mainly melatonin, has been shown to act as a neuroendocrine mediator involved in the control of various endocrine rhythms within living organisms. The pineal gland has been linked to both affective illness and cancer by various mechanisms. A significant number of studies have provided evidence that ELF electric and magnetic fields can influence the operation of the pineal gland, usually by inhibiting the synthesis and subsequent release of melatonin. Some possible mechanisms for the ELF field effects on the pineal gland include stress due to field exposure, retinal sensing, or ganglionic coupling. The authors suggest that more data are required to determine whether the influence of ELF fields upon the pineal gland actually presents a health hazard.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=2109494&dopt=Abstract
Acta Paediatr Jpn 1990 Feb;32(1):88-93
Precocious puberty in a seven-year-old boy due to human chorionic gonadotropin producing pineal tumor detected by nuclear magnetic resonance computed tomographic scanning.
Takahashi H, Tokuda N, Kariya H.
Department of Pediatrics, Kanazawa Medical University, Ishikawa-ken, Japan.
We report a 7-year-old boy who developed incomplete sexual precocity due to a human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG)-producing tumor in the pineal region. The patient presented enlarged testes (3 x 2 x 2 cm) bilaterally, enlarged penis, pubic hair development of Tanner Stage III, advanced bone age and growth spurt. Initial hormonal studies showed an adult male level of testosterone (13 ng/ml) and a high level of HCG as well as HCG-beta subunit. A high basal level of LH, probably due to immuno-cross-reactivity with HCG, and low basal level of FSH, probably suppressed by testosterone, did not respond to LH-RH infusion. Search for the site of HCG production failed at the initial workup, but calcification without definite signs of tumor in the pineal region was found by conventional brain CT scan. Because of subsequent progression of clinical and laboratory findings of sexual precocity, nuclear magnetic resonance computed tomographic (NMR-CT) scan was performed, which confirmed the presence of a pineal tumor three months later. The patient was treated with 4,500 rad. of radiation therapy, and responded dramatically to this regimen. He has been followed for more than two years without any signs of recurrence. We have reported here a very rare case of incomplete sexual precocity due to an HCG-producing intracranial tumor in the pineal region. An NMR-CT scan is a very useful tool for the diagnosis of some types of pineal tumor, such as germinoma, which are highly radiosensitive.
PMID: 2109494 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Boll Soc Ital Biol Sper 1990 Jul;66(7):615-22
A preliminary study of human pineal gland concretions: structural and chemical analysis.
Galliani I, Falcieri E, Giangaspero F, Valdre G, Mongiorgi R.
Istituto di Anatomia Umana Normale, Universita di Bologna.
Acervuli and fragments of pineal gland obtained from 33 subjects of both sexes and age ranging from 1 to 87 years, (30 autopsy and 3 biopsy specimens) were analyzed by light microscopy, transmission and scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray energy dispersive microanalysis. It was found that primary mineralization occurs in an organic matrix formed by pinealocytes and that hydroxyapatite also takes place in mineral deposition. From our analysis, the formation of acervuli appears to be age and sex independent and can be possibly related to the secretory activity of the gland.
PMID: 1964562 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
From TOXNETBIOCHEM BIOPHYS RES COMMUN; 169 (1). 1990. 102-108.
Marked rapid alterations in nocturnal pineal serotonin metabolism in mice and rats exposed to weak intermittent magnetic fields.
LERCHL A NONAKA KO STOKKAN K-A REITER RJ
Dep. Cellular Structural Biology, University Texas Health Sci. Center (UTHSC)
BIOSIS COPYRIGHT: BIOL ABS. Adult AMES mice and male Sprague Dawley rats were exposed to an artificial magnetic field, generated by Helmholtz coils. 3.5 hours after the onset of darkness the coils were activated for one hour resulting in an inversion of the horizontal component of the earth's magnetic field. The coils were activated and deactivated at 5 min intervals during the 1 hour exposure period. In both mice and rats, the levels of serotonin in the pineal were markedly increased by the exposure. In rats, an increase of pineal 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid and a decrease of the activity of the pineal enzyme serotonin-N-acetyltransferase also was observed. However, pineal and serum melatonin levels were not altered. The results indicate that the metabolism of serotonin in the pineal is quickly affected by the exposure of animals to a magnetic field.