LifeCare Chiropractic

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melatonin

IMPORTANT ROLE OF OXIDATIVE STRESS IN THE ONSET OF ALZHEIMER – (01-09-06)

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Early melatonin supplementation alleviates oxidative stress in a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease

Yet another wonderful article delineating the importance of the role of oxidative stress in the onset of Alzheimer’s. This mouse study found melatonin to be very protective, but mainly when giving early. The problem with that approach in humans is that most clinicians have not embraced the oxidative stress/mitochondrial dysfunction model of AD and probably won’t for several decades.

That means that, despite knowing that melatonin may help prevent AD in the children of AD patients, they won’t get the news until it is too late. Let’s just hope the info gets out in time for THEIR children to protect themselves.

Read entire article here

MELATONIN IS A STRONG ANTIOXIDANT IN THE BRAIN – (10-31-05)

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Melatonin improves abdominal pain in irritable bowel syndrome patients who have sleep disturbances

I know that when I hear melatonin, I used to only think of a natural hormone that can help with sleep. Now, years later, we’ve found so many other physiologic roles for melatonin. It’s a very strong antioxidant in the brain; it’s found in certain vegetables; and now, helps to regulate GI motility.

As such, in this study, 3 mg at bedtime lowered abdominal pain in patients with IBS. Interestingly, there were no beneficial effects on sleep quality. While this may not have had a bearing, I have recently moved to starting patients on a lower (.5 mg) dose to start with and this seems to result in less side effects.

Read entire article here

WALNUTS HELPS TO SEDATE PEOPLE TO SLEEP – (09-29-05)

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Melatonin in walnuts: Influence on levels of melatonin and total antioxidant capacity of blood

Okay, so I was a little surprised to hear that melatonin is found in walnuts. I guess I just always viewed it as one of those mammal-only substances. I guess this means we can add walnuts to the list of compounds that may have an ability to sedate and/or help people sleep when taken late at night.

Read entire article here

MELATONIN IS HIGHLY EFFECTIVE – (07-11-05)

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Melatonin is effective for some sleep disorders

Well…I have to say that this article is probably right on for how I use melatonin in my office.  Two interesting notes–this study found melatonin effective in children and also used dosages up to 10 mg, which is far in excess of the higher levels of recommendations at 3 mg.  Also of notes was that the authors compared melatonin with Ambien and found it similarly effective–and, though not mentioned, a heck of alot cheaper (melatonin is very inexpensive).

Keep in mind as well that melatonin has some heavy research behind it for acting as a high powered antioxidant in the nervous system, which is an added benefit that I would bet Ambien can’t claim.

Read entire article here

NIGHT SHIFT WORKERS SUFFER HIGH RISK OF BREAST CANCER – (04-10-06)

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Decreased Melatonin Production Linked to Light Exposure

It really seems like we’re just starting to find out exactly how extensive melatonin’s influence on our health is. We starting realizing that it helps regulate our circadian rhythm. Than we found it was a powerful antioxidant in the nervous system. Now we see that it may play a role in breast cancer development. Interesting too, that female night shift workers have a much higher risk of breast cancer. Recall that sunlight exposure (and, in this case, artificial light exposure) suppresses melatonin production from the pineal gland.

This study would suggest that all night shift workers strongly consider melatonin supplementation before going to bed in the morning.

Read entire article here

INSULIN RESISTANCE LOWERS THE LEVELS OF NITRIC OXIDE – (03-27-06)

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Involvement of nitric oxide pathway in the acute anticonvulsant effect of melatonin in mice

The biochemistry on this one gets a little deep, but stay with me for a second. First, this is a mouse study, so take it for what it’s worth. But this does show the incredibly complex interactions between the systems of the mammalian system.

In this study, melation was given to protect against seizures. But the beneficial effect was only seen in the presence of nitric oxide (actually, the benefit was seen when a nitric oxide precurser, L-arginine, was given). So, what about insulin resistance? We know that insulin resistance lowers the effective levels of nitric oxide. So, if melationin is going to be used to help manage seizures, insulin sensitivity has to be managed as well for the most positive effects. How ’bout that for a tangled web?

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A BETTER AND CHEAPER ALTERNATIVE : MELATONIN – (02-27-06)

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Melatonin improves bowel symptoms in female patients with irritable bowel syndrome

While at first glance this may seem a little surprising, melatonin is created from serotonin, and serotonin plays a large role in regulation of GI motility. Some of the new “wonder” drugs for IBS affect this pathway. So, might the important factor not be serotonin, but rather the melatonin? And a serotonin deficiency in the gut would lead to less melatonin production? Seems like a logical thought process.

By the way, melatonin is a very inexpensive supplement and much cheaper than the new drugs for IBS affecting the same pathway.

Read entire article here

Simple Supplement Can Protect Memory in Seizures and Migraines?

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While most sufferers consider them separate entities, migraines and seizure share many common characteristics and the underlying problem with the cells of the brain are also similar.  What contributes to or triggers a migraine headaches can also trigger seizures, such as lack of sleep, stress and skipping a meal.  In the short term, both of these conditions dramatically affect quality of life.  Even more concerning is what these conditions due to the brain in the long run.

Read entire article here.