Message Number: SG16054 | New FHL Archives Search

From: Sukie Crandall
Date: 2005-11-23 16:31:36 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] melatonin
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com

I am resending this because the text of the original was totally
missing on the website. Hopefully, it was just an intermittent
glitch but I will try my sukie@mac.com addy this time and copy to
myself to check things here, too.

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Sukie Crandall <sukiec@optonline.net>
> Date: November 23, 2005 11:15:34 AM EST
> To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
> Subject: metanalysis of melatonin for a range of solid malignancies
> (and also some studies on its potential use for lympho, ADV, etc.)
>
> A press release in Eurekalert points to something on which the U.S.
> veterinary community was faster on the uptake than the U.S. medical
> community, though it has not be applied as widely as perhaps it can
> be.
>
> In a metanalysis of multiple studies found a 34% reduction in
> death rate at one year among the humans with a range of solid
> tumors when large doses of melatonin were used.
>
> I wonder what other tumors in ferrets besides adrenal ones may work
> out better with melatonin as part of the treatment?
>
> Melatonin is a natural product which the pineal gland produces in
> response to darkness. Light exposure decreases melatonin
> production, even a night light. In fact, I recall reading a while
> back of a study starting on whether NOT using night lights would
> improve survival for human childhood leukemia patients, but have
> not run into anything on that, yet, but in looking for that I found
> some potentially intriguing studies that are mentioned under the J.
> Pineal Res. article.
>
> START QUOTE
>
> Journal of Pineal Research
> Volume 39 Issue 4 Page 360 - November 2005
> doi:10.1111/j.1600-079X.2005.00258.x
>
>
> Melatonin in the treatment of cancer: a systematic review of
> randomized controlled trials and meta-analysis
> Edward Mills1, Ping Wu2,3, Dugald Seely3,4 and Gordon Guyatt1
> Abstract: Most observational studies show an association between
> melatonin and cancer in humans. We conducted a systematic review of
> randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of melatonin in solid tumor
> cancer patients and its effect on survival at 1 yr. With the aid of
> an information specialist, we searched 10 electronic databases from
> inception to October 2004. We included trials using melatonin as
> either sole treatment or as adjunct treatment. Prespecified
> criteria guided our assessment of trial quality. We conducted a
> meta-analysis using a random effects model. We included 10 RCTs
> published between 1992 and 2003 and included 643 patients. All
> trials included solid tumor cancers. All trials were conducted at
> the same hospital network, and were unblinded. Melatonin reduced
> the risk of death at 1 yr (relative risk: 0.66, 95% confidence
> interval: 0.59Ð0.73, I2 = 0%, heterogeneity P ² 0.56). Effects were
> consistent across melatonin dose, and type of cancer. No severe
> adverse events were reported. The substantial reduction in risk of
> death, low adverse events reported and low costs related to this
> intervention suggest great potential for melatonin in treating
> cancer. Confirming the efficacy and safety of melatonin in cancer
> treatment will require completion of blinded, independently
> conducted RCTs.
>
> END QUOTE
>
>
> Press release:
> http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-11/mudo-ttr112205.php
>
>
> MORE (There are others so I will need to make time to read more
> widely if I can, BUT NOTE THE GENERAL STATEMENT BELOW since it
> should also have veterinary implications):
>
> START QUOTE
> Med Hypotheses. 2005;64(4):864-71.
> Related Articles, Links
>
>
> Could visible light contribute to the development of leukaemia and
> other cancers in children?
>
> Erren TC.
>
> Institute and Policlinic for Occupational and Social Medicine,
> School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Cologne, Joseph-
> Stelzmann-Str. 9, 50924 Koln, Lindenthal, Germany. tim.erren@uni-
> koeln.de
>
> This paper suggests to rigorously test the hypothesis that there
> are causal links between visible light and the development of
> leukaemia and other cancers in children. Light can be considered as
> a candidate risk factor because it suppresses melatonin
> biosynthesis which may play a role in a series of anticancer
> defences. Indeed, melatonin may offer some protection against all
> "hallmarks of cancer" [i.e., self-sufficiency in growth signals;
> insensitivity to growth-inhibitory signals; evasion of programmed
> cell death (apoptosis); limitless replicative potential; sustained
> angiogenesis; tissue invasion and metastasis] recently suggested by
> Hanahan and Weinberg. Already ongoing investigations into the
> possible nexus of light, endocrine systems and the development of
> cancers will be further fueled by recent insights into
> photoreception and -- transduction, including the discovery of
> "novel" photoreceptors in the eye. Among a variety of different
> photosensory tasks, these receptors constitute crucial gates for
> light information from the environment which is employed for the
> temporal organization of our physiology and it has been proposed
> that chronodisruption, i.e., a significant disturbance of the
> coordination and thus order of biological rhythms, could contribute
> to the development of cancers. With regard to public health, the
> pervasive exposures to light -- at work and in homes -- imply that
> visible radiation could be a strong risk factor defined
> epidemiologically as a causal contributor to disease in a large
> proportion of cases. Importantly, if light were to be corroborated
> as a contributor to cancers in children, it would be amenable to
> manipulations with the perspective of reducing inherent risks
> significantly. In fact, it could be much easier -- and much more
> effective -- to reevaluate and modify lighting systems than to
> manipulate other possible determinants of the chronic processes of
> cancer such as genetic, nutritional or lifestyle factors.
>
> This article in PubMed may be of use to some, too, because of an
> interesting possible mechanism discussed (abstract available at
> PubMed):
>
> START QUOTE
> Henshaw DL, Reiter RJ.
> Do magnetic fields cause increased risk of childhood leukemia via
> melatonin disruption?
> Bioelectromagnetics. 2005;Suppl 7:S86-97.
> PMID: 16059923 [PubMed - in process]
> END QUOTE
>
> This is a veterinary study of melatonin reducing the impact of some
> viral diseases in animals. Note the ADV mention and more. Also,
> remember that some malignancies can have disease triggers:
>
> START QUOTE
>
> J Pineal Res. 2004 Mar;36(2):73-9.
> Related Articles, Links
>
> Melatonin and viral infections.
>
> Bonilla E, Valero N, Chacin-Bonilla L, Medina-Leendertz S.
>
> Instituto de Investigaciones Clinicas 'Dr. Americo Negrette',
> Facultad de Medicina, Universidad del Zulia, Maracaibo, Venezuela.
> ebonillaro@yahoo.com
>
> The therapeutic effects of melatonin against viral infections, with
> emphasis on the Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis (VEE), are
> reviewed. Melatonin has been shown to prevent paralysis and death
> in mice infected with the encephalomyocarditis virus and to
> decrease viremia. Melatonin also postpones the onset of the disease
> produced by Semliki Forest virus inoculation and reduces the
> mortality of West Nile virus-infected mice stressed by either
> isolation or dexamethasone injection. An increase in the host
> resistance to the virus via a peripheral immunostimulatory activity
> is considered responsible for these effects. It has also been
> demonstrated that melatonin protects some strains of mink against
> Aleutian disease, and prevents the reduction of B- and T-cells as
> well as Th1 cytokine secretion in mice infected with leukemia
> retrovirus. In VEE-infected mice, melatonin postpones the onset of
> the disease and death for several days and reduces the mortality
> rate. This protective effect seems to be due to the increase in the
> production of interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), as 100% of the infected
> mice treated with melatonin die when IL-1beta is blocked with
> antimurine IL-1beta antibodies. Although melatonin administration
> raises serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and
> interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), the mortality observed in
> neutralization experiments with the corresponding anticytokine
> antibodies, suggests that neither TNF-alpha nor IFN-gamma are
> essential for the protective effect of melatonin on murine VEE
> virus infection. Melatonin treatment also enhances the efficiency
> of immunization against the VEE virus. Reactive oxygen species have
> been implicated in the dissemination of this virus, and their
> deleterious effects may be diminished by melatonin. This indole
> inhibits nitric oxide synthetase activity and it is a potent
> scavenger of nitric oxide, which also plays an important role in
> the spread of the VEE virus. In conclusion, the immunomodulatory,
> antioxidant, and neuroprotective effects of melatonin suggest that
> this indole must be considered as an additional therapeutic
> alternative to fight viral diseases.
>
> END QUOTE
>
> BTW, it has recently been found in humans that lymphoid cells also
> produce melatonin and that this plays a part in immune system
> regulation. (Found in this abstract which indicates that it may be
> useful when lymphoma is present):
>
> START QUOTE
> J Pineal Res. 2005 Nov;39(4):425-31.
> Related Articles, Links
>
>
> Melatonin provokes cell death in human B-lymphoma cells by
> mitochondrial-dependent apoptotic pathway activation.
>
> Trubiani O, Recchioni R, Moroni F, Pizzicannella J, Caputi S, Di
> Primio R.
>
> Dipartimento di Scienze Odontostomatologiche, Universita di Chieti-
> Pescara, Via dei Vestini, Chieti, Italy. trubiani@unich.it
>
> Apoptosis is an important cell suicide programme involved in
> physiological and pathological processes. Apoptosis can be induced
> in different ways depending on cell type and acquired signal.
> Melatonin, the major secretory product of the pineal gland,
> participates in many important physiological functions and displays
> a remarkable functional versatility exhibiting antioxidant,
> oncostatic, anti-aging, and immunomodulatory properties. Recently,
> it has been shown that, in addition to pineal gland, human lymphoid
> cells are an important physiological source of melatonin and that
> may be involved in the regulation of the immune system. In this
> work, we examine the effect of melatonin on RAMOS-1 human leukaemic
> cells. Cell growth and viability, DNA fragmentation and JC-1, and
> annexin V expression have been determined. To elucidate the
> mechanism of action of melatonin, Western blot analyses for Bcl-2
> and caspase-3 expression, and cytochrome c release were carried
> out. The results suggest that the apoptotic effect of melatonin is
> associated with cell-cycle arrest, downregulation of Bcl-2,
> mitochondrial membrane depolarization, cytochrome c release and
> activation of caspase-3. The intrinsic (mitochondrial dependent)
> pathway of caspase activation is the 'point of no return'
> commitment to cell death. Taken together, our study indicates that
> melatonin may play a role as potential therapeutic drug in specific
> lymphoproliferative diseases.
> END QUOTE
>
>
> There also was a recent discovery that it is found in large amounts
> in marrow [pers. com. Dr. Jerry Murray]
>

-- Sukie (not a vet)
Ferret Health List co-moderator
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth
FHL Archives fan
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org
International Ferret Congress advisor
http://www.ferretcongress.org






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