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It is well-known that the light/dark cycle incident on the retina regulates the timing of the human circadian system. Disruption of a regular, 24-hour pattern of light and dark can significantly affect our health and well-being. A wide range of modern maladies, from sleep disorders to cancer, have been linked to light-induced circadian disruption. Light has been defined, however, only in terms of the human visual system, not the circadian system. Thus, the study of light-induced circadian disruption is in need of a new definition of light (and dark). Here we contrast light as a stimulus for the human visual system with that for the human circadian system to elucidate the significance of developing a new definition of circadian light as it might ultimately be used to improve health and well-being.

There are studies reporting that some natural products containing melatonin. Sleep disturbance and nocturnal polyuria are related to abnormal biorhythm. It is possible that Kampo medicine may influence biorhythm. We therefore examined the symptoms and plasma melatonin of patients treated with Rokumi-gan, Hachimi-jio-gan, Gosha-jinki-gan and Seishinrenshi-in. Furthermore, the concentration of four kampo medicines and crude drugs making up these formulations were investigated. Diurnal plasma melatonin was not affected by Rokumi-gan, but tended to be lowered by treatment with Hachimi-jio-gan, Gosha-jinki-gan and Seishinrenshi-in. Melatonin was present in several extracts from crude drugs, namely Rehmanniae radix, Moutan cortex, Cinnamomi cortex, Aconiti tuber, Plantaginis semen, Scutellariae radix and Lycii radicis cortex.

Cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc), cobalt tetracarboxy phthalocyanine (CoTCPc) and cobalt octacarboxy phthalocyanine (CoOCPc), adsorbed onto glassy carbon electrodes, have been used for the electrocatalytic detection of nitrite, L-cysteine and melatonin. The modified electrodes electrocatalytically detected nitrite around 800 mV vs.Ag|AgCl, a value less positive compared to that of an unmodified glassy carbon electrode (at 950 mV vs.Ag|AgCl) and also gave detection limits in the 10^-7 M range for nitrite detection. L-cysteine was detected by the modified electrodes at potentials between 0.50 to 0.65 V vs.Ag|AgCl, with L-cysteine detection limits also in the 10^-7 M range. The detection limits for melatonin ranged from 10^-7 to 10^-6 M. CoPc-modified electrodes displayed good separation of interferents (tryptophan and ascorbic acid) in the presence of melatonin. Analyses of commercial melatonin tablets using modified electrodes gave excellent agreement with manufacturer's value for all modified electrodes of this work.

This article contains some observations on cancer and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in Italy. Italy does not have a strong tradition of using CAM approaches in the treatment of cancer. While the Italian population is eager to learn more about CAM, the medical profession is largely dismissive of these methods. In 1997–1998 the notorious Luigi Di Bella Affair occurred in Italy, when a professor of physiology at Modena proposed a non-conventional approach to cancer treatment, based around the off-label use of somatostatin. This treatment found champions in the media and general public, but was opposed by most of the medical profession. This affair divided Italian public opinion. Italy no longer has prominent proponents of non-conventional treatments in cancer. However, it continues to have innovative scientists who do work that is consonant with a CAM approach. This article considers the work of three such scientists: Paolo Lissoni, MD, of Monza (Milan), who has carried out numerous clinical trials with the pineal hormone, melatonin; Giancarlo Pizza, MD, of Bologna, who has done extensive work on the use of transfer factor (TF) and other immunomodulators in the treatment of renal cell and other kinds of cancer; and Aldo Mancini, MD, of Naples, who has isolated a mutated form of Mn-SOD-2 from the growth medium of a unique liposarcoma cell line. These scientists have introduced some flexibility into a rigid state-run hospital system by offering patients innovative treatment options in the context of approved clinical trials.