Melatonin in Parkinson’s Disease
This was a 12 week randomized double-blind placebo controlled trial on melatonin supplementation for people with Parkinson’s Disease (N=60). Participants took either Melatonin 10mg or placebo 1 hour before bedtime for the duration of the trial.
Melatonin supplementation resulted in numerous favorable changes. This included significant reductions in the following compared to placebo:
- Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale part I score (P < 0.001)
- Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index ( P = 0.02)
- Beck Depression Inventory (P = 0.001) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (P = 0.008)
- hs-CRP (P = 0.003)
- serum insulin (P = 0.009)
- HOMA-IR (P = 0.007)
- Total cholesterol and LDL (P = 0.03 and P = 0.04, respectively)
People that took melatonin also experienced significant increases in total plasma antioxidant capacity (P < 0.001) and glutathione (P < 0.001).
Sleep disorders are a common problem for people with PD (including REM-associated sleep behavior disorder), and the expression of melatonin receptors in the substantia nigra of PD patients has been shown to be decreased. Neurotoxin-induced experimental models of PD also demonstrate that melatonin prevents neuron cell death. Whether the effects of melatonin in people with PD are mediated by sleep regulation or other factors, such as antioxidation, is not completely understood.
Citation:
Daneshvar Kakhaki et al. Melatonin supplementation and the effects on clinical and metabolic status in Parkinson’s disease: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery. 2020 May 1; 195:105878.
Link:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0303846720302213