Letter from Pr Henri Joyeux no 142
In this letter, to facilitate understanding, we have devised a dialogue between James Parkinson and Alois Alzheimer. They interview Professor Jean-Bernard Fourtillan who discovered the sleep hormone, as well as sleep-wake regulation.
After the detailed presentation, by James Parkinson and Alois Alzheimer themselves, of the diseases named after them, here is a first fictional interview conducted by James and Alois. They talk to Professor Jean-Bernard Fourtillan, who discovered the sleep hormone and the sleep-wake regulation.
These two neurodegenerative diseases share the same cause which can affect different regions of the brain: the secretions of the 3 pineal hormones, Melatonin, 6-Methoxyharmalan and Valentonin are insufficient.
Pr Jean-Bernard Fourtillan explains in detail the action of the 3 hormones produced by the small pineal gland at the centre of the brain, also known as epiphysis. Discharged into the blood stream during the night, they are distributed throughout the body and make their way to their sites of action. Melatonin protects all cells, more specifically the nerve cells (neurons), by reducing oxygenated free radicals, which prevents their destruction via radical oxidation processes.
The other 2 pineal hormones, Valentonin (VLT) and 6-Methoxyharmalan (6-MH), modulate the responses of 2 types of specific receptors:
– the receptors of the neurotransmitters located on synapses, junction points between the neurons. They amplify (VLT) or reduce (6-MH) the transmission of nerve impulses in these neurons;
– and the hormone receptors (receptors of liberins or stimulines) located on the endocrine glands (hypophysis, etc.). VLT reduces hormonal secretions during the night, unlike 6-MH, which reduces them during the day.
Thanks to their competing actions, in waking or sleeping mode, VLT and 6-MH totally regulate the life of our body 24 hours a day.
The discovery of these regulation mechanisms helps explain the effectiveness of the substitution treatment which provides the 3 hormones of the sleep-wake regulation, in the prevention and treatment of neurological disorders.