Abstract
In an attempt to demonstrate whether β endorphin (BED) diurnal rhythm existed in neonates, 17 infants with mean (+SD) gestational age of 31.7 ± 4.8 weeks and birth weight of 1790 ± 898 grams were studied at a mean postnatal age of 3.3 ± 0.5 days. Plasma samples were obtained from a pre-existing umbilical arterial line at 9:00 a.m., noon and 3:00 p.m. Plasma BED was isolated using Sephadex column chromatography and radioimmuno assay. Sensitivity was between 5 and 500 pg/.1 ml of sample. Recovery was 84%. Mean plasma concentrations of β endorphin were 68.3 ± 27.7 pg/ml, 54.5 ± 13.7 pg/ml and 45.1 ± 10.8 pg/ml respectively. Highly significant (P=0.0002) variation of plasma β endorphin concentration was observed in these neonates using one way analysis of variance with repeated measures with 3 points in time suggesting the presence of a diurnal rhythm of β endorphin in neonates. It is important to specify the time of collection of blood samples for determination of opiates in neonates.
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Sankaran, K., Hindmrash, K. & Tan, L. DIURNAL RHYTHM OF β ENDORPHIN IN NEONATES. Pediatr Res 21 (Suppl 4), 220 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00326
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00326