It’s not the case:
These findings highlight that MT can inhibit DNA repair mechanisms, leading to the accumulation of DNA damage and potentially enhancing the effectiveness of IR in treating NSCLC.
I have looked at supplementary S5 which does compare Ionising Radiation alone with Ionising Radiation and Melatonin. This does seem to substantiate the conclusion in “discussion”, but I don’t really have the time to spend on going through the paper in any detail.
It could be that melatonin reduces the oxidising effect of the IR so that the cell doesn’t think it has as much damage.
New claims about melatonin (not just high-dose) and heart failure:
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That’s interesting. I would like to see melatonin users compared to users of other sleeping drugs. I feel like here they compared melatonin users to non-users among people with chronic insomnia: surely those getting melatonin prescribed (even more so in the US where it’s OTC) must have had way more severe insomnia.
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I was taking 2mg of melatonin for years now and it for the last few days I increased the dose to 5mg and wasn’t expecting much. I was wrong! My sleep is much better, I wake up less.
I still have in case I woke up in the night to pee or something a spray in my bed, 1mg per pschitt.
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This study presents correlation and does not prove causation.
Those with significant insomnia may have other underlying problems which lead to CHF et.
I have taken OTC melatonin for 10+ years at 5mg qhs, and now 120mg qhs x 8 months, and I remain healthy.
I do not take melatonin for insomnia, rather for its other potential benefits.
Melatonin-article-Shallenberger_Townsend_2019.pdf
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New study links melatonin and heart failure, but experts say don’t panic yet
Experts say new research findings suggesting that long-term use of melatonin could be associated with increased risk of heart failure need further investigation.
But the study, which has not yet been peer reviewed, has drawn mixed reactions from sleep medicine experts and cardiologists, who are urging the public not to panic and are calling for more research into using melatonin for long periods.
The preliminary results, which appear to contradict existing research suggesting that melatonin might have health benefits for people with heart failure, are from a research abstract that is expected to be presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions, a conference for cardiovascular science and medicine. Several experts who reviewed the study also noted limitations that make it challenging to determine whether and how long-term melatonin use could influence heart failure, which is when your heart isn’t pumping as well as it should.
“The findings are certainly provocative and warrant attention, especially given the widespread perception of melatonin as a benign, ‘natural’ sleep aid,” said Muhammad Rishi, an associate professor of clinical medicine and spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, who was not involved in the study. “However, the study is observational and based on electronic health record data, which limits its ability to establish causality.”
Limitations
The study’s authors noted several limitations, including that the group of people who did not have an official record of melatonin use could have included individuals who purchased supplements over the counter.
“The most problematic part” of the study, said David Neubauer, a sleep expert at Johns Hopkins University who was not involved in the research, “is we don’t know whether or not those people in the control group were taking melatonin.”
Only using prescriptions to identify melatonin users means it’s possible that people who take over-the-counter melatonin supplements were classified as nonusers, Rishi said. This could result in findings that inflated risk, he said.
The health record data also did not capture details about whether patients with insomnia who were prescribed melatonin reported changes in their sleep, Oen-Hsiao said.
“If they had such bad insomnia that they needed prescription-dose melatonin, were they actually getting the benefit of the melatonin for sleep?” she said. “And if the answer is no, then you cannot have a correlation that melatonin causes heart failure.”
It’s more likely, she said, that the insomnia could be contributing to declining heart health and leading to heart failure. She added that the study did not appear to distinguish what type of heart failure patients were diagnosed with.
Read the full article: New study links melatonin and heart failure, but experts say don’t panic yet (WaPo)
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I just learned that melatonin can worsen symptoms of Sick Sinus Syndrome and other arrhythmias. It may cause bradycardia and too low blood pressure.
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I would be interested in reading any references to this.
I have Sick Sinus Syndrome (SSS) and noticed that my heart rate became slower than normal for me and I also started having very frequent pauses, which are typical for SSS. I asked Chart GPT if Melatonin may worsen the symptoms of SSS and was given an unequivocal answer. Melatonin does worsen SSS, causes slow heart rate and may exacerbate other arrhythmia’s. My cardiologist/electrophysiologist was not concerned that I was taking Melatonin. I since decreased the dose from 50 mg to 1.5 IR/XR from Life Extension. I only hope it will help.
Important to mention, that I have a genotype, rs12506228(AA). The A allele was associated with reduced MTNR1A gene expression and fewer melatonin receptors in the brain. I can’t say I understand this well, but there is supposedly an increased risk of dementia after age of 85. I was unable to learn about any strategies preventing this type of dementia associated with fewer melatonin receptors and decided that taking a high dose of melatonin made sense. I may had decided completely incorrectly- don’t know.
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This is my response from chatGPT
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Thank you very much for this detailed review of the information about cardiac arrythmias and the role of melatonin.
My observation was correct: in predisposed individuals melatonin may cause bradycardia and worsening of Sick Sinus Syndrome, which happened to me. Abnormal MT-1 receptors may also be a predisposing factor.
It is very unfortunate because I do believe in antioxidant and other great qualities of melatonin.