A review of the areas of clinical medicine where melatonin is thought to play an important role, attempting to clarify the role of melatonin, to suggest avenues for future research, and to provide the first synthesis of basic and clinical research for scientists and those in pineal research.

The neuroendocrine status of the pineal gland hormone, melatonin, is generally acknowledged in subhuman species, but a physiological role for this hormone in man remains to be established. Marked alterations in both the circulating levels of melatonin and the circadian organization of its secretion are now well recognized abnormalities in a variety of clinical syndromes and current data suggest the clinical and biological importance of this hormone. This volume brings together reviews of the areas of clinical medicine where melatonin is thought to play an important role. It reviews the data and interpretations which have been put on them, trying wherever possible to clarify the role of melatonin and to suggest avenues for future research. It aims to provide the first synthesis of basic and clinical research for scientists engaged on undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in biochemistry, physiology and the life sciences, for scientists currently researching the pineal and its hormones and for clinicians at all levels interested in or researching the fundamental role of the pineal gland in human physiology.