MELATONIN RESPONSE IN ACTIVE EPILEPSY

Urinary excretion of 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (aMT.6S), the hepatic metabo lite of melatonin, was measured for three consecutive 8-h intervals, b eginning at 0600 h, in 30 patients with untreated active epilepsy and in 19 healthy subjects. Excretion of aMT.6S in a 24-h period in patien ts with active epilepsy was 77.3 +/- 55 nmol (median 68.0, range 8.7-2 80 nmol), significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that of healthy subject s (49.1 +/- 14 nmol, median 49.0, range 19.7-68.0 nmol). Sequential 8- h urinary aMT.6S excretion rates in patients with active epilepsy were 2.45 +/- 2.8 nmol/h (0600-1400 h), 0.83 +/- 0.5 nmol (1400-2200 h) an d 6.38 +/- 5.0 nmol/h (2200-0600 h) as compared with 1.43 +/- 0.8, 1.1 0 +/- 0.8 and 3.81 +/- 1.3 nmol/h, respectively, in healthy subjects. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that the difference in total ou tput resulted from greater nocturnal excretion (F = 5.58, p = 0.018). Melatonin production in untreated patients with active epilepsy is inc reased and has a circadian pattern with a phase difference as compared with that of normal subjects.