MELATONIN BENEFITS THE AGING.

According to a review authored by researchers from the University of Buenos Aires, melatonin benefits the elderly by decreasing sleep latency and increasing sleep efficiency. They added melatonin is of particular benefit to elderly Alzheimer’s disease patients, in whom melatonin is severly impaired. Researchers noted open and controlled studies have indicated a significant decrease of cognitive deterioration in Alzheimer’s patients treated with melatonin. In a clinical trial conducted by researchers from Sun Yat-Sen University, 100 patients with dry or wet AMD (age-related macular degeneration) received 3 mg/d of melatonin for at least three months. At the six-month mark, visual acuity had been kept generally stable in subjects given melatonin. Further, the researchers noted the change in the fundus picture (interior eye surface) of these patients was ‘remarkable.’ They concluded the use of 3 mg/d of melatonin seems to protect the retina and to delay macular degeneration. (Natural Products Insider, Jan. 2006)