No evening rise in melatonin levels in people with tetraplegia

Individuals with tetraplegia exhibited a lack of evening melatonin increase compared to controls and those with paraplegia.

• Melatonin levels in control and paraplegia groups significantly increased in the evening, while tetraplegia showed no such increase.
• Mean melatonin levels rose from 2.59 pg/ml at 7 PM to 10.62 pg/ml at 11 PM in controls, and from 4.28 pg/ml to 13.10 pg/ml in paraplegics.
• Tetraplegic individuals had a melatonin level of 5.25 pg/ml at 7 PM, which decreased to 2.41 pg/ml by 11 PM.
• Decreased sleep quality was reported by 83% of individuals with tetraplegia and 75% of those with paraplegia, compared to only 20% of controls.
• The absence of an evening melatonin increase in the tetraplegia group may be associated with their poor sleep quality.

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