- General Drug Summary
- Description
- are mediated through the binding and activation of melatonin receptors. Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) may have lower than normal levels of melatonin. A 2008 study found that unaffected parents of individuals with ASD also have lower melatonin levels, and that the deficits were associated with low activity of the ASMT gene, which encodes the last enzyme of melatonin synthesis. Reduced melatonin production has also been proposed as a likely factor in the significantly higher cancer rates in night workers.
- Also Known As
- MEL; MLT; N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine; Pineal Hormone
- Categories
- Central Nervous Syst
- Groups
- approved; nutraceutical
- Structure
- Summary In Neonatal Jaundice
-
1 record(s) for Melatonin Effective in Basic Research in Neonatal Jaundice.
- PMID
- Drug Name
- Efficacy
- Evidence
- 16306190
- Melatonin
- Effective in Basic Research
- Clinical Trial
- Summary
- The level of plasma melatonin is used to test the effect of blue light phototherapy on the expression of circadian genes.
- The effect of blue light exposure on the expression of circadian genes: bmal1 and cryptochrome 1 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of jaundiced neonates. Pediatric research, 2005 Dec [Go to PubMed]
- The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of blue light phototherapy on the expression of circadian genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and plasma melatonin levels in neonates. Real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to determine the expression of Bmal1 and Cry1 in PBMC, and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to determine plasma melatonin levels in 32 breast-milk jaundiced neonates before and after phototherapy, compared with 29 control neonates. The results showed that the expression of Bmal1 was decreased and Cry1 increased significantly after phototherapy. Plasma melatonin levels were decreased after phototherapy. There was no statistical difference in Bmal1 and Cry1 gene expression and plasma melatonin levels in the control group. In conclusion, phototherapy does affect the expression of the circadian genes Bmal1 and Cry1 in PBMC and plasma melatonin concentration in jaundiced neonates. Our results suggest that phototherapy shoul be timed according to circadian rhythms when treating jaundiced neonates.