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Plasma melatonin rhythm is maintained in human African trypanosomiasis
B Claustrat1, A Buguet, M Geoffriau
1Service de Radiopharmacie et Radioanalyse, Centre de Médecine, Nucléaire, Hôpital Neuro-Cardiologique, Lyon, France.
Neuroendocrinology
|August 8, 1998
Summary
Human African trypanosomiasis disrupts the sleep-wake cycle, causing a phase advance in melatonin rhythms despite preserved temperature cycles. This dissociation suggests neural pathway disruption in sleeping sickness patients.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Chronobiology
- Parasitology
Background:
- Human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) profoundly affects daily rhythms.
- Disrupted sleep-wake patterns are characteristic of the disease, impacting patient well-being.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of sleeping sickness on circadian rhythms.
- To compare plasma melatonin, sleep-wake, and rectal temperature rhythms in patients versus healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- Studied 9 Congolese sleeping sickness patients and 6 healthy controls under a controlled light/dark cycle.
- Monitored plasma melatonin, sleep-wakefulness, and rectal temperature rhythms.
- Analyzed rhythm parameters including phase, amplitude, and mesor.
Main Results:
- Sleeping sickness patients exhibited a disturbed circadian distribution of the sleep-wake cycle.
- A significant phase advance in plasma melatonin rhythm was observed in patients compared to controls.
- Rectal temperature rhythms remained persistent in patients, showing no significant alteration post-treatment.
Conclusions:
- A dissociation exists between melatonin, temperature, and sleep-wake rhythms in sleeping sickness.
- This dissociation may stem from functional compartmentalization of the suprachiasmatic nuclei or disrupted neural pathways.
- Parasite activity or host responses likely interfere with circadian regulation in sleeping sickness.