Melatonin

This page contains recent news articles, when available, and an overview of Melatonin but does not offer medical advice. You should contact your physician with regard to any health issues or concerns.


Overview:

Melatonin
(when available)

Pharmacology and use:
Melatonin is a hormone normally produced in the pineal gland and released into the blood. The essential amino acid L-tryptophan is a precursor in the synthesis of melatonin. It helps regulate sleep-wake cycles or the circadian rhythm. Production of melatonin is stimulated by darkness and inhibited by light. High levels of melatonin induce sleep and so consumption of the drug can be used to combat insomnia and jet lag. For the treatment of insomnia and jet lag

Mechanism Of Action:
Melatonin is a derivative of tryptophan. It binds to melatonin receptor type 1A, which then acts on adenylate cylcase and the inhibition of a cAMP signal transduction pathway. Melatonin not only inhibits adenylate cyclase, but it also activates phosphilpase C. This potentiates the release of arachidonate.

News Articles on Melatonin

Denise Flaim | Animal House  -  03 Jul 2008
Nature's course: Some owners report success using melatonin, a hormone produced by the pineal gland, with noise-phobic dogs. 5 More alternatives. Newsday,

Low Melatonin Associated with Increased Risk of Breast Cancer in ...  -  Jun 11, 2008
10, 2008) — Low melatonin levels are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women, according to a prospective case-control Science Daily (press release)

Working the Night Shift Promotes Cancer  -  Jul 1, 2008
Once factor behind the link may be melatonin, which a hormone that the body produces primarily at night. Melatonin has a role in regulating the body's Natural News.com,

Bright daytime lighting, melatonin may help people with dementia  -  Jun 24, 2008
A possible explanation for this problem is abnormal levels of the hormone melatonin. The pineal gland, a small gland in the brain, makes melatonin in Gather.com,

Light therapy 'can slow dementia'  -  Jun 10, 2008
The Dutch team used brighter daytime lighting - without or without the drug melatonin - to improve patients' sleep, mood and cut aggressive behaviour. BBC News,

Low Melatonin Levels Linked to Increased Risk of Postmenopausal ...  -  Jun 18, 2008
Low levels of urinary melatonin, a natural hormone which plays a critical role in regulating circadian rhythm, is associated with the enhanced risk of Medi News Direct,

Use Of Bright Lighting May Improve Dementia Symptoms For Elderly ...  -  Jun 10, 2008
..."The circadian timing system is highly sensitive to environmental light and the hormone melatonin and may not function optimally in the absence of their Science Daily (press release)

Vertigo likely not the fault of melatonin  -  Jun 17, 2008
My mother suggested it could be linked to melatonin. I take 5 mg of sublingual melatonin a night to help me sleep. A: When a person uses the term "dizzy" to Times Daily (subscription),

Born to be ill  -  Jun 22, 2008
Melatonin, a hormone secreted by the pineal gland in the brain in response to darkness, is suppressed by sunshine. Salib has speculated that having too much Chicago Tribune,

Tana Ganeva  -  Jun 25, 2008
Scientists hypothesize that light may lower levels of melatonin, a tumor-suppressing hormone produced by the brain at night. Many breast-cancer researchers AlterNet,

Vanda insomnia drug meets goal in late-stage trial  -  Jun 26, 2008
...s Rozerem as both are melatonin agonists. Both drugs bind to melatonin receptors in the brain, helping to modulate the sleep/wake cycle. CNNMoney.com

New insomnia drug could help millions  -  Jun 12, 2008
The drug is the first which uses melatonin, the body's own sleep hormone, to be available in this country. Widely used in America, where it is sold over the Telegraph.co.uk,

GPs Can Now Offer A New Prescription-only Melatonin For Older ...  -  Jun 6, 2008
GPs can now offer a melatonin on prescription to treat older adult patients diagnosed with primary insomnia. Circadin(R) is the first pharmaceutical grade Medical News Today (press release),

Host of Health Benefits Attributed to Sunlight  -  Jun 25, 2008
Natural daylight helps shut off your body's production of melatonin, a hormone produced at night that makes you drowsy. This can help you maintain a normal U.S. News & World Report,

Bright light for Alzheimer's  -  Jun 20, 2008
Within each group, half were also given 2.5 mg of melatonin, a hormone that influences the sleep-wake cycle and is available in health food stores and Los Angeles Times,

Circadian Math: 1 Plus 1 Doesn't Always Equal 2  -  Jun 6, 2008
...“The first two conditions — exposure to a single color in each eye — did not result in a significant difference in melatonin suppression, while the third Science Daily (press release)

Aging: Cue the Lights and Help Dementia  -  Jun 16, 2008
The study, which appeared June 11 in The Journal of the American Medical Association, also found that giving dementia patients the hormone melatonin could New York Times,

Popular Drugs, Side-Effects and Feeling Ill  -  Jul 1, 2008
Melatonin. The hormone melatonin is essential for healthy sleep-wake cycles, and there's some early evidence that it may slow aging. Rocklin and Roseville Today,

Natural ways to help you nod off  -  Jun 28, 2008
Everyone knows caffeine before bed keeps you awake because it depresses the sleep hormone melatonin for up to 10 hours. Sugary foods cause a rapid rise in Journal Live,

Can a Night Owl Become a Morning Person?  -  Jun 13, 2008
When light hits your retina, your SCN tells your body to stop pumping out melatonin, a hormone that makes you drowsy. When the light wanes, the melatonin Slate

Why do we Sleep?  -  Jun 22, 2008
As the sun begins to set and darkness creeps in, our brain begins to release a hormone called melatonin. This hormone regulates our sleep/wake cycles. Jamaica Observer,

Brighter Lighting Improves Symptoms in Patients With Dementia  -  Jun 12, 2008
Describe the effect of melatonin on the effect of bright light on symptoms and functioning in patients with dementia. Disclosure: Susan Jeffrey has Medscape (subscription)

HIGHER LIGHTING LEVELS MAY BE A DEFENSE AGAINST DEMENTIA, NEW ...  -  Jun 18, 2008
The pineal gland secretes melatonin, a hormone that acts somewhat as an anti-oxidant "blood cleaner." Melatonin levels normally build in our blood while we Exchange Morning Post,

Bright Lighting Could Improve Dementia Symptoms In Elderly  -  Jun 11, 2008
Additionally, the use of melatonin resulted in improved sleep. Dementia is a continuous decline in cognitive ability over time, and usually affects elderly Medical News Today,

Search this blog  -  Jun 12, 2008
A study published in JAMA indicates that treatment with bright light alone (1000 lux), or bright light combined with melatonin, can improve symptoms in ScienceBlogs

Does Comfort Zone For Dogs Work To Decrease Anxiety?  -  Jun 28, 2008
I also tried other strategies including Melatonin and other herbal strategies. I think Comfort Zone works the best and will continue to use it when Examiner.com

Losing our Faculties: A simple way of keeping our mind sharp  -  Jun 12, 2008
The good effects of brighter lighting was also amplified by using the natural supplement, melatonin, which is regularly taken in the US as a way of warding What Doctors Don't Tell You,

Sleep and Exercise II: Supplements for Alertness  -  Jun 17, 2008
Melatonin is a natural hormone that is a precursor to a decrease in alertness and appears to prepare the body for sleep. Therefore, the use of exogenous PezCycling News

Insomnia medicine launched in the UK  -  Jun 16, 2008
Circadin contains melatonin, a natural hormone released in the brain that helps to regulate sleep. Melatonin supplements are widely available in the US but Nursing in Practice,

Gene That Regulates Glucose Levels And Increases Risk For Diabetes ...  -  Jun 9, 2008
..."We found a novel association between fasting glucose and the melatonin receptor 1B (MTNR1B). It's novel because this is the first time a genetic variant Science Daily (press release)

4 All Natural Sleep Aids to Help Treat Your Insomnia  -  Jun 20, 2008
Melatonin is probably the most well known natural sleep aid. Melatonin is one of your natural hormones and it is produced when your body converts Seratonin Best Syndication,

Light Therapy Eases Behavioral Problems In Dementia Patients  -  Jun 12, 2008
The bright light therapy in combination with a daily dose of the sleep hormone melatonin can help improve the patients' sleep, mood and cut aggressive AHN

Bright Light Shown to Lift Spirits of Dementia Patients  -  Jun 14, 2008
Recently, researchers discovered that bright lights, in combination with daily doses of melatonin (a hormone that governs sleep), brought modest improvement HealthNews,

Turn on the Light for Dementia Patients  -  Jun 16, 2008
And, circadian rhythms are primarily synchronized by both light and melatonin, a hormone. In this study, researchers in the Netherlands studied the effects HealthandAge.com

Inside Out Making love is the best sleeping pill  -  Jun 16, 2008
Take 1-3 mg of natural hormone, melatonin, 20 minutes before bedtime. If this doesn’t help, then you are stressed about something that needs addressing. Inquirer.net,

Herbs for happiness, health and hangovers  -  Jun 23, 2008
If you’re in the US, American insomniacs swear by melatonin, a naturally occurring hormone found in most animals. CITY A.M.,

Scientists from Granada drastically reduce the wait time for new ...  -  Jun 17, 2008
The doctoral thesis has been carried out in the Framework of the Research Project “tudy of the synergism between Melatonin and Growth Hormone (GH) on the innovations report,

Light Chases Some of the Shadows Of Dementia  -  Jun 11, 2008
Light and melatonin reduction in elderly dementia patients can affect the synchronizing of that rhythm. Rixt F. Riemersma-van der Lek, MD, Ivanhoe,

Goat boards bus, four-year-old goes to rehab and anti-energy ...  -  Jun 4, 2008
A big hit in the Deep South, Drank is a carbonated, grape-flavored beverage spiked with melatonin, valerian root and rose hips. National Post,

Bright Light Eases Dementia Symptoms  -  Jun 12, 2008
Some home-care patients also received 2.5 milligrams of melatonin dose - a natural hormone affecting circadian rhythm. These patients were monitored from 1 eMaxHealth.com,

Phase III Data Show Vanda Pharmaceuticals' Tasimelteon (VEC-162 ...  -  Jun 26, 2008
Tasimelteon, (VEC-162), is Vanda's novel melatonin agonist in development for the treatment of insomnia and circadian rhythm sleep disorders (CRSD). FOXBusiness

Bright Lights Help Dementia Sufferers  -  Jun 11, 2008
A group of Dutch researchers clinically tested the effect that long exposure to bright light and melatonin have on the functioning of dementia patients. Medgadget.com,

New Book Presents Simple Scientific Approach for Better Sleep and ...  -  Jun 6, 2008
...by researcher Richard Hansler tells the story of how scientists discovered that the blue rays from common electric lights suppress melatonin, the sleep and PR-USA.net (press release),

'Slow your roll' with DRANK from Innovative Beverage Group the ...  -  Jun 11, 2008
Houston-based Innovative Beverage Group (Pink Sheets:IBGH) has harnessed the calming effects of melatonin, valerian root and rose hips for its recently Drinks Media Wire (Communiqués de presse),

Light help for dementia  -  Jun 10, 2008
...by Louise Durack The two major synchronisers of the circadian timing system, light and melatonin, have been shown to improve symptoms of dementia in nursing 6minutes,

How the digital age is ruining your health  -  Jun 30, 2008
It also reduces the concentration of melatonin, which is essential for a good night’s sleep. Solution: Make sure you don’t spend long hours in front of your Times of India,

Sleep and its importance  -  Jun 9, 2008
This prevents adolescents from falling off to sleep until around 11 pm, when they produce the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin, and waking up before 8 am The News - International,

New drug - Circadin  -  May 28, 2008
Lundbeck has launched Circadin (melatonin) for the short-term treatment of primary insomnia characterised by poor quality of sleep in patients aged 55 or Healthcare Republic

Doctor speaks out on artificial light  -  Jun 12, 2008
Blask and his colleagues have been recognized for research on the cancer-stimulatory effects of light at night through the suppression of melatonin, Oneonta Daily Star,

Help teens get the sleep they need  -  Jun 6, 2008
The pineal gland releases melatonin later at night and this causes teens to fall asleep later. Then, when it's time to get up, a teenager's body clock is SheKnows.com,

Brand Names/Synonyms:
Melatonin is also known by the following brand names and/or synonymsCircadin; MT6; Mela-T; Melatol; Melatonex; Melatonin; Melatonine; Melovine; Night Rest; Regulin

Drug Category:
Melatonin is categorized under the following by the FDA: Free Radical Scavengers; Antioxidants; Anticonvulsants; Adjuvants, Immunologic; ATC:N05CM17

Dosage Forms:
CAPSULE, LIQUID, LOZENGE, TABLET

Absorption:
The absorption and bioavailability of melatonin varies widely.

Interactions:
Interactions for Melatonin:
Melatonin may interact with the following drugs: aspirin and other NSAIDs (may lower melatonin levels), fluvoxamine (bioavailability of oral melatonin is increased with coadministration), beta blockers (may decrease melatonin levels), fluoxetine (reports of psychotic episodes when coadministered), progestin (coadministration of melatonin with progestin can inhibit ovarian function in women), benzodiazepenes and other sedating drugs (may result in additive sedation and an increased incidence of adverse effects), and corticosteroids (coadministration of melatonin and corticosteroids may interfere with the efficacy of the corticosteroids).



Chemical IUPAC Name:
N-[2-(5-methoxy-1H-indol-3-yl)ethyl]ethanamide

:
 
Web health.mongabay.com


Health Home | Conditions | Cancer | Medications | Surgery | Vaccines

mongabay.com


Disclaimer:

Contact a physician with regard to health concerns. Email requests for further health information will be discarded.

The materials contained on this Web site are for informational purposes only and do not constitute health or medical advice. Use of information on this site does not create or constitute any kind of agreement or contract between you and the owners or users of this site, the owners of the servers upon which it is housed, or anyone else who is in any way connected with this site.

Many links on health.mongabay.com lead to other sites. health.mongabay.com does not sponsor, endorse or otherwise approve of the materials appearing in such sites. Nor is health.mongabay.com responsible for dead or misdirected links.


COPYRIGHT 2007 MONGABAY.COM