FASEB J.
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Reiter, R. J.
Right arrow Articles by Richardson, B. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Reiter, R. J.
Right arrow Articles by Richardson, B. A.

The FASEB Journal, Vol 6, 2283-2287, Copyright © 1992 by The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

REVIEWS

Magnetic field effects on pineal indoleamine metabolism and possible biological consequences

RJ Reiter and BA Richardson
Department of Cellular and Structural Biology, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio 78284.

In recent years, there has been a great deal of publicity concerning the possible health effects of electric and/or magnetic field exposure. One of the most frequently reported observations after the exposure of animals to either electric or magnetic fields relates to alterations in the metabolism of serotonin (5HT) to melatonin within the pineal gland. This review summarizes these results particularly in animals exposed to intermittently inverted, non-time varying magnetic fields, i.e., pulsed static magnetic fields. When exposure occurs at night, the conversation of 5HT to melatonin is typically depressed, not unlike that after light exposure at night. The mechanisms by which pulsed magnetic fields alter the ability of the pineal to convert 5HT to the chief pineal hormone melatonin remains unknown but may involve effects on any or all of the following: the retinas, the suprachiasmatic nuclei, the peripheral sympathetic nervous system, and the pinealocytes. Results to date suggest that induced electrical currents (eddy currents) produced by the pulsed magnetic fields are particularly detrimental to pineal indoleamine metabolism and may be an important causative factor in the metabolic changes measured. The physiological consequences of perturbations in the melatonin rhythm induced by magnetic field exposure remain unknown.




HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 1992 by The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.