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Exposure to 2500 Lux Increases Serum Melatonin in Venezuelan Equine Encephalomyelitis

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Abstract

When mice infected with the Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis (VEE) virus were exposed to 2500 lux with a 12 h light: 12 h dark photoperiod, the serum levels of melatonin (MLT) remained constantly elevated. In mice exposed to 400 lux low levels of serum MLT were detected during the day and high levels during the night. An increase in the survival rate of the infected mice from 6 to 13 days after virus inoculation was also observed. The significant increment in the concentration of serum MLT produced by the high intensity light could be responsible for the longer survival rate of mice infected with the VEE virus.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurobiology, INBIOMED-FUNDACITE-ZULIA, P.O. Box 121, Maracaibo, 4001-A, Venezuela

    Shirley Medina, Giovanny Espina, Angela Young Achong & Ernesto Bonilla

  2. Instituto de Investigaciones Clínicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad del Zulia, P.O. Box 1151, Maracaibo, 4001- A, Venezuela

    Shirley Medina, Nereida Valero-Fuenmayor, Leonor Chacín-Bonilla, Florencio Añez, Debora Giraldoth, Julia Arias & Ernesto Bonilla

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  1. Shirley Medina
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  2. Nereida Valero-Fuenmayor
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  3. Leonor Chacín-Bonilla
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  4. Florencio Añez
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  5. Debora Giraldoth
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  6. Julia Arias
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  7. Giovanny Espina
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  8. Angela Young Achong
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  9. Ernesto Bonilla
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Medina, S., Valero-Fuenmayor, N., Chacín-Bonilla, L. et al. Exposure to 2500 Lux Increases Serum Melatonin in Venezuelan Equine Encephalomyelitis. Neurochem Res 24, 775–778 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020735730869

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