|
|
Article: Shift worker.(melatonin can change one's biological clock)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- February 15, 1997
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
FOR a hormone normally associated with darkness, melatonin has been enjoying a lot of limelight lately. But despite the hype that has cast it as a new panacea-able to cure everything from AIDS to Alzheimer's-there is no scientific evidence that it can do anything except rock the body's internal clock. This, however, makes it a powerful treatment for those maladies arising from airline travel or shiftwork.
Melatonin is made in the pineal gland, in the middle of the brain. Descartes considered this gland to be the seat of the soul, and though the pineal has rejoined the ranks of mortal organs since the 17th century, its importance in daily biological rhythms is ...