MELATONIN LEVELS IN IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS - DIURNAL AND NOCTURNAL SERUM MELATONIN LEVELS IN GIRLS WITH ADOLESCENT IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS

Study Design. Matched pairs of adolescent girls were used to compare s erum melatonin levels in adolescent patients and control subjects with idiopathic scoliosis during the day and in the middle of the night. O bjectives. To compare serum melatonin levels in patients with adolesce nt idiopathic scoliosis and matched control subjects during the day an d in the middle of the night. Summary of Background Data. Recent studi es using the chick as the animal model have suggested that the pineal gland and its main product, melatonin, might be involved in the cause of scoliosis. There have been no studies of melatonin levels in patien ts with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Methods. Blood was collected from seven adolescent girls with idiopathic scoliosis and a group of s even age-matched control subjects. Two samples were collected, one in the middle of the day and one in the middle of the night, to examine t he diurnal variation of melatonin production. Serum melatonin levels w ere measured using a radioimmunoassay technique. Results. No significa nt differences were found in serum melatonin levels between experiment al and control groups either during the day, when melatonin levels wer e low, or during the night, when melatonin levels were high. Conclusio ns. Whereas pinealectomy in young chickens leads to reduced melatonin levels and the development of scoliosis, the results of this study sug gest that melatonin levels in mature patients who already have severe scoliosis do not differ from healthy subjects. Whether melatonin level s differ in humans between healthy subjects and patients with scoliosi s at the time of onset of the disease remains to be seen.