Am J Psychiatry 1976; 133:1181-1186
Copyright © 1976 by American Psychiatric Association
Negative effects of melatonin on depression
JS Carman, RM Post, R Buswell and FK Goodwin
In order to test the efficacy of the pineal neurohumor melatonin on
depression, the hormone was administered in varying doses to six moderately
to severely depressed patients and two patients with Huntington's chorea in
double-blind crossover study. Melatonin exacerbated symptoms of dysphoria
in these patients, as well as causing a loss of sleep and weight and a drop
in oral temperature. Melatonin increased cerebrospinal fluid
5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and calcium in three of four patients studied.
The authors discuss the implications of this finding.
