Melatonin's efficacy in stroke patients; a matter of dose? A systematic review.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to evaluate melatonin's effectiveness as a neuroprotective agent for stroke treatment by reviewing clinical and pre-clinical evidence, comparing doses used in RCTs, and assessing translational applicability to humans.
Results Summary
The study found insufficient RCTs to conclusively prove melatonin's value in stroke patients, but evidence was promising, particularly in reducing oxidative response and increasing survival rates. Translational doses from animal studies were higher than those used in human RCTs.
Population
Stroke patients (human and pre-clinical animal models).
Effective Dosage
Not specified (translational doses were higher than those used in RCTs).
Duration
Not specified.
Interactions
None mentioned.
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
melatonin | neutral | stroke treatment | - | - | emerged as a promising neuroprotective agent | #1 |
melatonin | decrease | oxidative response | - | - | reduction | #2 |
melatonin | increase | survival rate | patients in the intervention groups | - | increase | #3 |
melatonin | no change | stroke patients | stroke patients | - | insufficient RCTs to prove value | #4 |
There is a lack of effective therapies for stroke patients; its treatment is even more difficult considering the unexpected onset of the disease. In the last decade, melatonin has emerged as a promising neuroprotective agent which is able to cross the blood-brain-barrier (BBB) and with a low toxicity profile. The aim of this systematic review was to summarize and critically review clinical and pre-clinical evidence related to melatonin's effectiveness as a stroke treatment. Together with a comparative dose extrapolation with those used in the selected randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and based on these data to discuss whether the administered doses correlate with those advisable in human patients. To address this purpose, we performed a systematic review of the available literature. A total of 529 records were screened with the selecting of six full articles containing RCTs that met the inclusion/exclusion criteria. The evidence drawn from these six reports was analyzed to identify remaining gaps, treatment efficacy, and to suggest future directions. The primary outcome reported was the reduction of the oxidative response; the secondary outcome was the increase of the survival rate of the patients in the intervention groups. Calculations derived from animal studies revealed that the translational doses to humans were substantially higher than those employed in the RCTs. The findings of this systematic review revealed that there are insufficient RCTs to prove melatonin's value in stroke patients. Nevertheless, the evidence is promising, and further clinical research may support the benefits of melatonin in stroke patients, if the adequate dose is administered.