Overview
In recent years, research on the function and effect of melatonin, a hormone of the pineal gland, has produced promising results with implications for clinical psychiatry, oncology, endocrinology and other areas of medicine. Divergent levels of serum melatonin in major depression in adults and children and adolescents may indicate phenomenologically similar, but biologically different subtypes of major depression. This discovery could lead to the development of new, more objective diagnostic tests for some forms of major depression. Melatonin is also being used to induce sleep and treat jet lag, and recent findings indicate that it acts as a potent, natural antioxidant and has possible anticancer properties. These findings, however, have created unreasonable expectations and unsubstantiated claims that melatonin is a miracle drug. To dispell these inflated claims and expectations, this work provides psychiatrists, oncologists, endocrinologists, paediatricians and other health professionals with a thorough examination of the most current research on the role of melatonin in psychiatric and neoplastic disorders. This textbook and clinical reference is divided into four sections. ""Evolutionary Development and Neurobiology of the Pineal Gland"" discusses the synthesis of melatonin and the anatomy of the pineal gland. In ""Melatonin in Psychiatric Disorders in Adults"", pioneers in the field of pineology outline their findings on melatonin in the areas of adult depression, sleep disorders, chronobiological mood disorders, bipolar disorders, eating disorders, panic disorders, shift work maladaptation, and jet lag. ""Melatonin in Children and Adolescents"" examines the pineal gland and melatonin in healthy children and adolescents and reviews recent studies on serum and urine melatonin in major depression. ""Melatonin and Neoplastic Disorders"" examines melatonin's potential as an antioxidant in cancer cells and its diagnostic and therapeutic value in oncology. The final chapter looks at the role that mindful meditation plays in increasing nocturnal serum melatonin and examines meditation's potential as an adjunct treatment for breast, prostate, and gastrointestinal tract cancers or as a preventive measure for high-risk individuals.
Full Product Details
Author: Mohammad Shafii, MD ,
Sharon Lee Shafii, RN BSN
Publisher: American Psychiatric Association Publishing
Imprint: American Psychiatric Association Publishing
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 2.50cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 0.744kg
ISBN: 9780880489195
ISBN 10: 0880489197
Pages: 334
Publication Date: 31 May 1998
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Manufactured on demand
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Reviews
Melatonin, as noted by Dr. Shafii, has become a 'household' word although much remains unknown concerning the role of this hormone. Melatonin receptor sites are found in many organ systems, not only in the brain. This book, with chapters by leading experts in the field of sleep, reviews not only the current state-of-the-art neurobiology of the pineal gland, but also the potential role of melatonin in psychiatric disorders, sleep disorders, and eating disorders. The most fascinating section addresses the possible role of melatonin in neoplastic disorders. Some of the chapters raise controversial points but there is good documentation of where the field is and why we should pursue further investigations of this molecule. This book is a solid review of where we are in our knowledge and which new areas should be explored. -- Dr. Christian Guilleminault, Stanford Health Disorders, Sleep Disorders Clinic, Stanford, California This book provides a comprehensive update on this topic and is essential reading for all clinicians. -- Doody's Health Sciences Book Review Journal Psychiatric readers will most benefit from the excellent chapters on the role of circadian rhythms and melatonin production in patient with mood disorders. This is the area--not, as is widely held by the public, in the treatment of primary insomnia--that currently has the strongest theoretical support for a role of melatonin in the pathophysiology and treatment of psychiatric disorders... each chapter is superb... psychiatric practitioners trying to update themselves on the scientific support for the use of melatonin in psychiatric disorders and for its appropriate use by the public will find this book an informative addition to their library. -- American Journal of Psychiatry
<p> Melatonin, as noted by Dr. Shafii, has become a 'household' word although much remains unknown concerning the role of this hormone. Melatonin receptor sites are found in many organ systems, not only in the brain. This book, with chapters by leading experts in the field of sleep, reviews not only the current state-of-the-art neurobiology of the pineal gland, but also the potential role of melatonin in psychiatric disorders, sleep disorders, and eating disorders. The most fascinating section addresses the possible role of melatonin in neoplastic disorders. Some of the chapters raise controversial points but there is good documentation of where the field is and why we should pursue further investigations of this molecule. This book is a solid review of where we are in our knowledge and which new areas should be explored. -- Dr. Christian Guilleminault, Stanford Health Disorders, Sleep Disorders Clinic, Stanford, California
Author Information
Mohammad Shafii, M.D., is Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residency Training Program in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at University of Louisville School of Medicine in Louisville, Kentucky. Sharon L. Shafii, R.N., B.S.N., is Editor-in-Residence in Louisville, Kentucky. Ms. Shafii was formerly Assistant Head Nurse in the Adolescent Service at the Neuropsychiatric Institute, University of Michigan Medical Center, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
