Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Menstrual Stages and Melatonin Hormone

Melatonin, also known as N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine, a hormone secreted by the pineal gland in the brain with functions of regulating sleep cycles, other hormones, timing in secretion of female hormones that affect the menstrual cycle, etc. The levels of the circulating hormone vary in a daily cycle, depending to the circadian rhythm is an internal 24-hour “clock”.
One important feature, as a role as a pervasive and powerful antioxidant, Melatonin protect our body from free radicals by fighting against damage of the nuclear and mitochondrial DNA of the cells. In a study of "Free Radical-Mediated Molecular Damage Mechanisms for the Protective Actions of Melatonin in the Central Nervous System" by RUSSEL J. REITER, DARIO ACUÑA-CASTROVIEJO, DUN-XIAN TAN and SUSANNE BURKHARDT, researchers concluded that most recently, melatonin has been shown to increase the efficiency of the electron transport chain and, as a consequence, to reduce election leakage and the generation of free radicals. These multiple actions make melatonin a potentially useful agent in the treatment of neurological disorders that have oxidative damage as part of their etiological basis.

Melatonin and menstrual condition symptoms
1. Headaches
Over counter melatonin supplement has been proven to be effectively prevent and treat migraines and headaches. In a study of The therapeutic potential of melatonin in migraines and other headache types by Gagnier JJ., researcher found that melatonin may play a role in resynchronizing biological rhythms to lifestyle and subsequently relieve migraines and other forms of headaches. In addition, research testing the administration of melatonin found it safe in migraine sufferers, with few or no side effects. However, a larger, randomized control trial is needed to definitively determine if administration of melatonin to migraine patients is effective.

2. Circadian disturbances
According to the article of Is Internal Timing Key to Mental Health? Published by AAAS, the article indicated that... psychiatrists working with small groups of patients have shown that
correcting abnormal circadian rhythms—through exposure to light, melatonin pills, or even sleep deprivation—can help treat some of these disorders,....

3. Depression associated with the menopause
According to the study of "Effects of Melatonin in Perimenopausal and Menopausal Women: Our Personal Experience" by Bellipanni G, DI Marzo F, Blasi F, Di Marzo A., researchers concluded that At present we assert that the six-month treatment with MEL produced a remarkable and highly significant improvement of thyroid function, positive changes of gonadotropins towards more juvenile levels, and abrogation of menopause-related depression.

4. Prolactin
In a study of Evening administration of melatonin enhances the pulsatile secretion of prolactin but not of LH and TSH in normally cycling women, by Massimo Terzolo, Alberto Revelli, Daniela Guidetti, Alessandro Piovesan, Paola Cassoni, Piero Paccotti, Alberto Angeli, Marco Massobrio, researchers found that Exogenous melatonin has a stimulatory effect on PRL release without affecting the temporal pattern of its pulsatile secretion in normal women. Melatonin has minor, if any, effect on TSH secretion whereas the effect on LH may depend on individual sensitivity.

5. Fertility
Melatonin can enhance fertility of a woman by lowering Follicle stimulating hormones, according to the article of "You should know about Melatonin and Fertility" by Dr. Tanya Smith, TCM, ... at the 20th World Congress on Fertility and Sterility in September 2010 and found that the fertilization rate among women who took 3 mg tablets of melatonin (n = 56) during the second IVF cycle were improved compared with those achieved during their first failed cycle, at 50.0% versus 20.2%. Patients who did not take melatonin (n = 59) experienced no change in fertilization rates.

6. Menopause
In a study of "Decrease in melatonin precedes follicle-stimulating hormone increase during perimenopause" Olli Vakkuri, Aarre Kivelä, Juhani Leppäluoto, Maija Valtonen and Antti Kauppila, researchers found that the inverse changes in melatonin and FSH secretion during the perimenopausal years, with the sharpest decline in nocturnal excretion of melatonin far before menopause, suggest that melatonin may be permissively linked to the initiation of menopause.

7. Anxiety: the association with lower melatonin levels
In a sudy of
"Perioperative effects of melatonin and midazolam premedication on sedation, orientation, anxiety scores and psychomotor performance" by Acil M, Basgul E, Celiker V, Karagöz AH, Demir B, Aypar U., researchers concluded that Melatonin premedication was associated with preoperative anxiolysis and sedation without postoperative impairment of psychomotor performance.



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