XML Feed for RxPG News   Add RxPG News Headlines to My Yahoo!   Javascript Syndication for RxPG News

Research Health World General
 
  Home
 
 Latest Research
 Cancer
 Psychiatry
  Depression
   Antidepressants
  Neuropsychiatry
  Personality Disorders
  Bulimia
  Anxiety
  Substance Abuse
  Suicide
  CFS
  Psychoses
  Child Psychiatry
  Learning-Disabilities
  Psychology
  Forensic Psychiatry
  Mood Disorders
  Sleep Disorders
  Peri-Natal Psychiatry
  Psychotherapy
  Anorexia Nervosa
 Genetics
 Surgery
 Aging
 Ophthalmology
 Gynaecology
 Neurosciences
 Pharmacology
 Cardiology
 Obstetrics
 Infectious Diseases
 Respiratory Medicine
 Pathology
 Endocrinology
 Immunology
 Nephrology
 Gastroenterology
 Biotechnology
 Radiology
 Dermatology
 Microbiology
 Haematology
 Dental
 ENT
 Environment
 Embryology
 Orthopedics
 Metabolism
 Anaethesia
 Paediatrics
 Public Health
 Urology
 Musculoskeletal
 Clinical Trials
 Physiology
 Biochemistry
 Cytology
 Traumatology
 Rheumatology
 
 Medical News
 Health
 Opinion
 Healthcare
 Professionals
 Launch
 Awards & Prizes
 
 Careers
 Medical
 Nursing
 Dental
 
 Special Topics
 Euthanasia
 Ethics
 Evolution
 Odd Medical News
 Feature
 
 World News
 Tsunami
 Epidemics
 Climate
 Business
Search

Last Updated: Aug 19th, 2006 - 22:18:38

Depression Channel
subscribe to Depression newsletter

Latest Research : Psychiatry : Depression

   DISCUSS   |   EMAIL   |   PRINT
Melatonin improves mood in winter depression
May 7, 2006, 19:41, Reviewed by: Dr. Himanshu Tyagi

OHSU study reveals how low-dose melatonin taken in the afternoon helps most winter depressives whose physiological clocks are off kilter due to the later winter sunrise

 
Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University(OHSU) have found that melatonin, a naturally occurring brain substance, can relieve the doldrums of winter depression, also known as seasonal affective disorder, or SAD. The study is publishing online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

The study was led by Alfred Lewy, M.D., Ph.D., an internationally recognized pioneer in the study of circadian (24-hour) rhythm disturbances, such as those found in air travelers and shift workers, as well as in totally blind people.

Lewy and his colleagues in the OHSU Sleep and Mood Disorders Lab set out to test the hypothesis that circadian physiological rhythms become misaligned with the sleep/wake cycle during the short days of winter, causing some people to become depressed. Usually these rhythms track to the later dawn in winter, resulting in a circadian phase delay with respect to sleep similar to what happens flying westward. Some people appear to be tracking to the earlier dusk of winter, causing a similar amount of misalignment but in the phase-advance direction. Symptom severity in SAD patients correlated with the misalignment in either direction.

The treatment of choice for most SAD patients is bright light exposure, which causes phase advances when scheduled in the morning. Because patients know when they are exposed to bright light, however, there is a considerable placebo response associated with it. Melatonin can also cause phase advances, but it has to be taken in the afternoon. The Lewy team used afternoon melatonin to test if it was more antidepressant than melatonin taken in the morning, which causes phase delays.

The researchers randomly assigned 68 SAD patients to one of three treatment groups, taking placebo capsules or melatonin in the morning or afternoon for three weeks. After four years of study, they concluded that, similar to persistent jet lag, circadian misalignment is a major part of SAD.

Most patients, typically phase-delayed types or "night owls," have misalignment that responded best to taking low-dose melatonin in the afternoon or evening. A longer-than-expected subgroup of SAD patients, phase-advanced types or "morning larks," responded best to taking low-dose melatonin in the morning. Melatonin did not cause drowsiness, because the doses used were lower than what is usually taken at bedtime.

In addition to bright light exposure, another treatment may be in the offing once low-dose, sustained-release melatonin formulations become available. "However, people in the phase-advanced subgroup should use these treatments at different times of the day than the typically phase-delayed type of patient," explained Lewy, adding that more research is needed.
 

- Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
 

www.ohsu.edu

 
Subscribe to Depression Newsletter
E-mail Address:

 

Lewy is the Richard H. Phillips Professor of Biological Psychiatry, senior vice chairman of psychiatry, and director of the Sleep and Mood Disorders Lab, OHSU School of Medicine.

Related Depression News

New brain-chemistry differences found in depressed women
Stereotypical self-image interferes with depression treatment
Exaggerated inflammatory response to psychological stress seen in major depression
Ever-happy mice may hold key to new treatment of depression
Treating depression may raise anxiety levels
Depressed singles receive greater psychological benefits from getting married
STAR*D Trial: Third antidepressant medication might help in treatment-resistant depression
Residual Depressive Cognitions could Predict Relapse of Depressive Illness
Link Between Depression and Heart Disease
Social factors not hormones cause post-natal depression


For any corrections of factual information, to contact the editors or to send any medical news or health news press releases, use feedback form

Top of Page

 

© Copyright 2004 onwards by RxPG Medical Solutions Private Limited
Contact Us