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 Jason Taylor wrote, re melatonin production:
 > 
 > eroth@data.att.com wrote:
 > 
 > : In article q2q@Vir.com,  nexus@Vir.com (Alan Pollock) writes:
 > : >Actually, according to multitudinous medline reports and from other
 > : >sources, the pineal gland does Not loose the capacity to produce
 > : >melatonin, nor does it ever stop producing it whilst supplements 		 
      are [being given].
 > 
 > That's great news if true!  I'm a sceptic at heart though, so would
 > you be so kind as to post the references of the papers which show that
 > production is independent of serum levels?  Many thanks in advance.
 I agree with Jason. I've used time-release melatonin (1.8 - 2 mg/night) 
 for over a year now. I developed signs of tolerance after a few months. 
 I now use melatonin every *other* night, and so far the strategy has 
 worked perfectly, at least so far as sleep quality goes. (What all this 
 means in regard to melatonin's putative anti-aging properties is an open 
 question). If I try to use melatonin every night, my sleep tends to be 
 fitful. The same thing happens if I double the dosage. All this suggests 
 that at a minimum downregulation of melatonin receptors is occurring and 
 that the hormone has non-linear effects, presumably from negative 
 feedback controls over endogenous production. Analogy with other 
 hormones would lead you to suppose that endogenous melatonin production 
 probably decreases with supplementation as well.
 Along these lines, I've run across several animal studies in the last 
 year that suggest that downregulation of melatonin receptors in 
 particular brain regions *does* take place when animals are given 
 supplemental melatonin. I'll dig up abstracts of these papers and post 
 them if anyone is interested in looking at them. I know of no studies - 
 if anyone else does, please e-mail me - concerning how endogenous 
 production is affected by supplementation. I hope to write an article on 
 this question in a future issue of _Narcolepsy & Sleep Disorders_, which 
 I often write for. 
 Steve Farmer