First allow me… to pass on information about Covid-19 “long-haul” syndrome, that can include body aches, muscle pain, brain fog, abdominal issues and continued loss of taste or smell. A protocol was developed called I-RECOVER. An article said a team of physicians identified specific types of treatment based on the symptoms, however all patients are advised to use vitamin C, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D3 and melatonin. Melatonin? This is surprising news. Melatonin is a hormone made in the pineal gland. The brain is stimulated to make it by lack of light. Most people have heard of taking melatonin orally before bed, to help with falling asleep. Studies have now shown it helps with Covid-19. A study of one hundred and fifty-eight male patients with severe disease in Iraq was done from Dec 1,2020 to June 1, 2021 and the results published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases in Oct 2021. The subjects were divided into two groups: seventy-six were given standard therapeutic care only, and eighty-two were given the same standard care plus ten milligrams of melatonin per day (mean age was 56.3). The physicians evaluated these men for incidence of sepsis, thrombosis and mortality on days five, eleven and seventeen. There was significant reduction during the second week in thrombosis and sepsis in the melatonin group. Mortality was significantly higher in those that didn’t get melatonin. The two groups were as equally split as possible concerning the presence of co-morbidities such as high blood pressure, asthma, diabetes and heart disease. The group that didn’t get melatonin had significantly more patients with thrombosis on day seventeen. Neither group developed sepsis in the first five days, but by day eleven, two had developed sepsis in the melatonin group and eight in the no-melatonin group. The mortality rate in the no-melatonin group (the control group) was 17.1% and only 1.2% in the melatonin group. Their conclusion? “Improved thrombosis, sepsis and mortality rates support the adjuvant melatonin’s efficacy in mitigating this infectious disease. Given melatonin’s superior performance as a cheap, highly safe and readily available medication, it is strongly recommended to be addressed in future studies.” I agree – who wouldn’t? But what is it about melatonin that would do this? What even gave them the idea to try it?
It started out with an observation during earlier research in late 2020 that using melatonin was associated with a 28% reduction in the likelihood of a positive Covid-19 test. There is a special network researchers can use. Methodically using clinical evaluations and artificial intelligence they seek out potential drug treatments by looking at how diseases are linked at the molecular level. SARS-CoV-2 was compared alongside sixty-four other diseases. The data is sorted for conditions that are similar and have drugs approved for treatment. Thirty-four FDA approved drugs were considered for the potential re-purposing in the treatment of Covid-19. Researchers narrowed down that list from categories that included antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, hormones, beta-blockers and B2-agonists. The Cleveland Clinic used data they had from nearly twenty-seven thousand inpatients; adjusting for factors such as age, smoking history, race and disease comorbidities, which is when they found taking melatonin reduced the chance of a positive Covid-19 test. You might find it interesting that when they figured in black Americans, the reduction rose to 52%. Gender is important! National heritage can make a difference. It needs to be said out loud and in writing that every cell of the body has either an XX or an XY chromosome set. This can (and should) make a difference in what is recommended as far as treatment.
On further consideration of melatonin, researchers looked at the potential of it for things besides helping people sleep. Melatonin has many actions as an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiviral, and seems to help the immune system (good sleep also helps the immune system). Dr. Paul Marik, a critical care doctor at Eastern Virginia Medical School, published an article on the use of melatonin in treating sepsis (The Journal of Thoracic Disease, Feb 2020) stating the physiological mechanism that melatonin helps is to regulate the oxidative imbalance and mitochondrial dysfunction commonly found in sepsis. Another paper published in The Frontiers in Medicine in May 2020, discussed the use of melatonin to treat Covid-19. The Front Line Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC) published a statement on the MATH+ protocol that showed profound impacts on the survival of Covid-19 patients. Part of their protocol included six to twelve milligrams of melatonin at night along with other things that are listed as anticoagulants and immune- fortifying drugs. This included a review of the efficacy of Ivermectin. Their group of medications included corticosteroids, ascorbic acid, heparin, statins, vitamin D, and melatonin, all of which were either validated in randomized controlled trials or were strongly supported with large observational data sets. Sadly, adoption of MATH+ has not become widespread. It seems to me that marketing is key to all pharmaceutical break throughs; it shouldn’t be so, but it is. Perhaps things like this little newsletter, which you can share, will help. This is good news, please spread the word.
Other health benefits of melatonin are that it helps regulate inflammation in the body and has the ability to impact pain associated with osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. In 2015, a correlation was noted between melatonin and a decrease in multiple sclerosis relapses. T-cell differentiation is affected by melatonin: this could give implications for autoimmune disorders such as MS. A study in The Journal of Perinatology showed that early administration of melatonin with hypothermia helped infants who suffered asphyxiation during birth. It had neuroprotective effects and seemed to help lower brain damage. Infants received this hypothermia treatment with five daily enteral doses of melatonin. Melatonin helps to promote genomic stability. Breast cancer seems to get worse when melatonin signaling is disrupted. This should be tied with its ability to improve human growth hormone production to increase strength and muscle mass. Antioxidative and anti-inflammatory attributes also have demonstrated protection for liver function. This has an impact on fatty liver disease. Melatonin helps decrease painful uterine issues related to menstruation, intercourse, and urinating. It has shown to be beneficial in protecting the retina. It has been shown to block secretion of stomach acids and decrease nitric oxide (which relaxes the lower esophageal sphincter), so it helps GERD. Melatonin can impact certain drugs. It interacts with caffeine. It lowers blood sugar levels. It may decrease the effects of high blood pressure medicines. Several cautions were issued for people on high blood pressure medicines. It slows blood clotting so if you’re already on coumadin look out. It might worsen bleeding disorders. Melatonin can increase the risk of seizure. Recipients of transplants should not use it because it increases immune function and they must take drugs to keep their immune system from rejecting the transplant.
It CANNOT make claims to improve athletic performance, improve appetite and weight gain, increase fertility, or for helping shift work sleep problems. Pregnant and nursing women should not use it as that is not a time to add another hormone to your body. Side effects for long term use (over TWO years) have been minimally seen: headache, sleepiness, dizziness, nausea. People have told me they take the time to experiment with dose to figure out how to get some sleep but not wake up groggy.
By the time you get this newsletter the days are starting to get longer. Light and dark can have a big impact on the pineal gland and melatonin production. The above text is not meant to promote using melatonin to fight Covid because by itself - it simply won’t. On the other hand, I like giving you news on what is going on in the medical world to treat the virus and some of the research processes that are being used and studied.
It started out with an observation during earlier research in late 2020 that using melatonin was associated with a 28% reduction in the likelihood of a positive Covid-19 test. There is a special network researchers can use. Methodically using clinical evaluations and artificial intelligence they seek out potential drug treatments by looking at how diseases are linked at the molecular level. SARS-CoV-2 was compared alongside sixty-four other diseases. The data is sorted for conditions that are similar and have drugs approved for treatment. Thirty-four FDA approved drugs were considered for the potential re-purposing in the treatment of Covid-19. Researchers narrowed down that list from categories that included antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, hormones, beta-blockers and B2-agonists. The Cleveland Clinic used data they had from nearly twenty-seven thousand inpatients; adjusting for factors such as age, smoking history, race and disease comorbidities, which is when they found taking melatonin reduced the chance of a positive Covid-19 test. You might find it interesting that when they figured in black Americans, the reduction rose to 52%. Gender is important! National heritage can make a difference. It needs to be said out loud and in writing that every cell of the body has either an XX or an XY chromosome set. This can (and should) make a difference in what is recommended as far as treatment.
On further consideration of melatonin, researchers looked at the potential of it for things besides helping people sleep. Melatonin has many actions as an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiviral, and seems to help the immune system (good sleep also helps the immune system). Dr. Paul Marik, a critical care doctor at Eastern Virginia Medical School, published an article on the use of melatonin in treating sepsis (The Journal of Thoracic Disease, Feb 2020) stating the physiological mechanism that melatonin helps is to regulate the oxidative imbalance and mitochondrial dysfunction commonly found in sepsis. Another paper published in The Frontiers in Medicine in May 2020, discussed the use of melatonin to treat Covid-19. The Front Line Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC) published a statement on the MATH+ protocol that showed profound impacts on the survival of Covid-19 patients. Part of their protocol included six to twelve milligrams of melatonin at night along with other things that are listed as anticoagulants and immune- fortifying drugs. This included a review of the efficacy of Ivermectin. Their group of medications included corticosteroids, ascorbic acid, heparin, statins, vitamin D, and melatonin, all of which were either validated in randomized controlled trials or were strongly supported with large observational data sets. Sadly, adoption of MATH+ has not become widespread. It seems to me that marketing is key to all pharmaceutical break throughs; it shouldn’t be so, but it is. Perhaps things like this little newsletter, which you can share, will help. This is good news, please spread the word.
Other health benefits of melatonin are that it helps regulate inflammation in the body and has the ability to impact pain associated with osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. In 2015, a correlation was noted between melatonin and a decrease in multiple sclerosis relapses. T-cell differentiation is affected by melatonin: this could give implications for autoimmune disorders such as MS. A study in The Journal of Perinatology showed that early administration of melatonin with hypothermia helped infants who suffered asphyxiation during birth. It had neuroprotective effects and seemed to help lower brain damage. Infants received this hypothermia treatment with five daily enteral doses of melatonin. Melatonin helps to promote genomic stability. Breast cancer seems to get worse when melatonin signaling is disrupted. This should be tied with its ability to improve human growth hormone production to increase strength and muscle mass. Antioxidative and anti-inflammatory attributes also have demonstrated protection for liver function. This has an impact on fatty liver disease. Melatonin helps decrease painful uterine issues related to menstruation, intercourse, and urinating. It has shown to be beneficial in protecting the retina. It has been shown to block secretion of stomach acids and decrease nitric oxide (which relaxes the lower esophageal sphincter), so it helps GERD. Melatonin can impact certain drugs. It interacts with caffeine. It lowers blood sugar levels. It may decrease the effects of high blood pressure medicines. Several cautions were issued for people on high blood pressure medicines. It slows blood clotting so if you’re already on coumadin look out. It might worsen bleeding disorders. Melatonin can increase the risk of seizure. Recipients of transplants should not use it because it increases immune function and they must take drugs to keep their immune system from rejecting the transplant.
It CANNOT make claims to improve athletic performance, improve appetite and weight gain, increase fertility, or for helping shift work sleep problems. Pregnant and nursing women should not use it as that is not a time to add another hormone to your body. Side effects for long term use (over TWO years) have been minimally seen: headache, sleepiness, dizziness, nausea. People have told me they take the time to experiment with dose to figure out how to get some sleep but not wake up groggy.
By the time you get this newsletter the days are starting to get longer. Light and dark can have a big impact on the pineal gland and melatonin production. The above text is not meant to promote using melatonin to fight Covid because by itself - it simply won’t. On the other hand, I like giving you news on what is going on in the medical world to treat the virus and some of the research processes that are being used and studied.
