Northwestern University Medical School
Contact Elizabeth Crown; [email protected]
Northwestern University Medical School researchers have launched a study to determine the effectiveness of melatonin to relieve insomnia in the initial weeks of ProzacÆ therapy.
They believe the hormone melatonin may not only improve sleep but also diminish depression that has been exacerbated by sleep deprivation.
Many patients starting on antidepressants such as ProzacÆ continue to suffer from insomnia during the three- to five-week period before the drug takes effect. Insomnia is one of the most common -- and debilitating -- symptoms of depression, which affects the lives of neraly 15 percent of the adult population.
Melatonin, a hormone that plays a vital role in setting the body's biological clock, has received widespread attention for its ability to induce sleep in individuals and to "reset" the body's circadian rhythms resulting from jet lag and other sleep disturbances.
The melatonin in the Northwestern study has undergone rigorous testing by the Food and Drug Administration to ensure its purity and safety for use in humans. Pharmacists at Northwestern Memorial Hospital will specially prepare the melatonin capsules for the study according to strict FDA guidelines to guarantee its uniform quality and potency. This process also will help the researchers determine the amount of melatonin required to restore normal sleep.
Recent reports from Canada found that many pills labeled as melatonin in health food and drug stores either had limited amounts of melatonin in them or contained no melatonin at all.
Maria Caserta, M.D., associate profess or psychiatry and behavioral sciences and a researcher in the Asher Center for the Study and Treatment of Depressive Disorders at Northwestern, is principal investigator for the study. Co-investigators include Margarita L. Dubocovich, professor of molecular pharmacology and biological chemistry; Howard Tushman, M.D., a resident physician in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences; and Monica I. Masana, research assistant professor of molecular pharmacology.
This study is funded by the Asher Center for the Study and Treatment of Depressive Disorders in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Medical School and the Northwestern Drug Discovery Program.
(Dr. Caserta can be reached at 311-908-1889.)
(Other medical news from Northwestern University can be found on the World Wide Web at: http://www/nwu.edu/univ relations/media/newsreleases/*medical/mindex.html)
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