http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Melatonin injections delayed symptom onset and reduced mortality in a mouse model of the neurodegenerative condition amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. In a report published online ahead of print in the journal Neurobiology of Disease, the team revealed that receptors for melatonin are found in the nerve cells, a finding that could launch novel therapeutic approaches. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-team-melatonin-als-symptom-onset.html Neuroscience Thu, 25 Apr 2013 04:54:11 EST news286084445 With previous evidence suggesting that melatonin may have a role in glucose metabolism, researchers have found an independent association between decreased secretion of melatonin and an increased risk for the development of type 2 diabetes, according to a study in the April 3 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-decreased-melatonin-secretion-higher-diabetes.html Diabetes Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:00:02 EST news284125986 (HealthDay)—Oral melatonin does not improve appetite, weight, or quality of life for patients with cachexia due to advanced cancer, according to research published online Feb. 25 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-oral-melatonin-effect-appetite-advanced.html Cancer Sat, 16 Mar 2013 06:13:44 EST news282633217 (Medical Xpress)—In the first study of its kind, researchers have determined that teens who are homeschooled benefit from healthier sleep habits than those who go to most private and public schools. The findings provide additional evidence of teens' altered biological clocks and support an argument for starting traditional high school later in the morning. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-homeschool-students-high-school.html Health Thu, 07 Mar 2013 07:06:43 EST news281862390 Investigators at the University of Granada have patented a melatonin gel that is 100% effective against this inflammatory reaction. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-scientists-technique-effectively-mucositis.html Cancer Thu, 14 Feb 2013 11:38:19 EST news280064259 Bushfires are quite appropriately dominating our nation's concerns during the current Australian heatwave. But for many, the struggle to sleep through soaring temperatures is a personal inferno that dominates conversation around offices and homes across the country. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-hot.html Health Fri, 11 Jan 2013 06:42:47 EST news277108955 A new study by Douglas Mental Health University Institute researchers shows altered body rhythms of the hormone melatonin in Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) women with insomnia. This finding may help explain some of the sleep disruptions experienced by women with PMDD, also known as premenstrual syndrome. PMDD is a mood disorder which appears in the week preceding menses, and affects about 3-8% of women. PMDD sufferers can experience depression, tension, and irritability of sufficient intensity to interfere with daily activities and relationships. Disturbed sleep is also a common symptom of the disorder, with up to 70% of patients frequently reporting either poor sleep quality with increased awakenings or excessive sleepiness during the symptomatic phase. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-impaired-melatonin-secretion-role-premenstrual.html Medical research Wed, 19 Dec 2012 17:00:07 EST news275157631 If you are among the 50 percent of Americans who suffer from insomnia, then you have probably tried everything – from warm milk to melatonin pills or prescription medications to induce sleep – with varying degrees of success and side effects. But what if sleep could be achieved not by a substance, but through 'balancing' brain activity? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-music-ears-good-night-therapy.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 20 Nov 2012 11:08:22 EST news272632092 Night work can increase cancer risk in men, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology by a research team from Centre INRS–Institut Armand-Frappier and Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal. The study is one of the first in the world to provide evidence among men of a possible association between night work and the risk of prostate, colon, lung, bladder, rectal, and pancreatic cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-cancer-night.html Cancer Mon, 15 Oct 2012 17:02:09 EST news269539321 (Medical Xpress)—Teenagers who use an iPad for an hour before bed are still likely to get a good night's sleep, new research from Flinders University shows. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-moderate-ipad-wont-teens-night.html Health Thu, 04 Oct 2012 08:22:58 EST news268557771 Over 20 million people in the United States take beta-blockers, a medication commonly prescribed for cardiovascular issues, anxiety, hypertension and more. Many of these same people also have trouble sleeping, a side effect possibly related to the fact that these medications suppress night-time melatonin production. Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have found that melatonin supplementation significantly improved sleep in hypertensive patients taking beta-blockers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-headway-beta-blockers.html Health Fri, 28 Sep 2012 00:20:01 EST news267992776 The combination of two neuroprotective therapies, voluntary physical exercise, and the daily intake of melatonin has been shown to have a synergistic effect against brain deterioration in rodents with three different mutations of Alzheimer's disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-melatonin-alzheimer-mice.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Wed, 26 Sep 2012 10:39:42 EST news267874776 (Medical Xpress)—Long stretches of DNA once considered inert dark matter appear to be uniquely active in a part of the brain known to control the body's 24-hour cycle, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-dark-dna-brain-day-night.html Medical research Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:14:29 EST news267693255 (Medical Xpress)—A troubling sleep disorder that causes sleepers to physically act out their dreams by kicking, screaming or falling out of bed may be more common than reported, according to Loyola University Medical Center sleep specialist Dr. Nabeela Nasir. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-dangerous-specialist-rem-behavior-disorder.html Health Fri, 21 Sep 2012 09:35:00 EST news267438891 (Medical Xpress)—A new study from the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute shows that a two-hour exposure to electronic devices with self-luminous "backlit" displays causes melatonin suppression, which might lead to delayed bedtimes, especially in teens. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-self-luminous-tablet-affect-evening-melatonin.html Medical research Mon, 27 Aug 2012 18:24:08 EST news265310635 Like a lot of Americans, Amalie Drury has grown very attached to her smartphone. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-electronic-screens-night-linked-loss.html Health Wed, 11 Jul 2012 10:50:01 EST news261221176 Breast cancer is the number one cause of female mortality. It affects 100 out of 100,000 women per year in developed countries. Each year, more than 1.3 million new cases are diagnosed, 53,000 of these in France. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-night-women-health.html Cancer Tue, 19 Jun 2012 11:11:29 EST news259323071 (HealthDay) -- Women who work the night shift more than twice a week might be increasing their risk for breast cancer, Danish researchers find. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-night-shift-boost-women-breast.html Health Tue, 29 May 2012 06:10:01 EST news257488634 A brain study in infant rats demonstrates that the anti-epilepsy drug phenobarbital stunts neuronal growth, which could prompt new questions about using the first-line drug to treat epilepsy in human newborns. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-anti-epilepsy-drugs-newborns.html Neuroscience Fri, 11 May 2012 11:36:14 EST news255954965 A study published in Nature Genetics today has found new evidence for a link between the body clock hormone melatonin and type 2 diabetes. The study found that people who carry rare genetic mutations in the receptor for melatonin have a much higher risk of type 2 diabetes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-genetic-links-body-clock-receptor.html Diabetes Sun, 29 Jan 2012 13:00:15 EST news247034442 (Medical Xpress) -- A new Vanderbilt study shows that the over-the-counter supplement melatonin is promising in helping children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and their families, sleep better. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-melatonin-eases-woes-children-autism.html Autism spectrum disorders Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:26:49 EST news245312771 A team from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and McGill University has made a major breakthrough by unraveling the inner workings of melatonin, also known as the "sleep hormone." The research, conducted in collaboration with scientists in Italy, reveals the key role played by the melatonin receptor in the brain that promotes deep, restorative sleep. This discovery led the researchers to develop a novel drug called UCM765, which selectively activates this receptor. The results, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, may pave the way for the development of new and promising treatments for insomnia, a common public health problem that affects millions of people worldwide. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-tireless-reveals-secrets-hormone.html Neuroscience Tue, 13 Dec 2011 17:00:14 EST news243005502 Drinking cherry juice significantly improves both the quality and duration of sleep, according to new findings from Northumbria University. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-cherry-juice-good-nights.html Health Wed, 02 Nov 2011 06:58:05 EST news239435871 Melatonin, best known for its role in sleep regulation, delayed the onset of symptoms and reduced mortality in a mouse model of Huntington's disease, say researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School. Their findings, published today in the Journal of Neuroscience, show for the first time that certain receptors for the hormone reside in the mitochondria, and that there are fewer of them both in affected mice and human brains. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-melatonin-onset-deaths-mouse-huntington.html Neuroscience Tue, 11 Oct 2011 17:34:40 EST news237573257 Recent research suggests that the modern day-day-night-night shift pattern for shift workers may not be as disruptive or as potentially carcinogenic as older, more extreme shift patterns. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-modern-shift-pattern-potentially-health.html Health Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:32:39 EST news236352716 Exposure to the light of white LED bulbs, it turns out, suppresses melatonin 5 times more than exposure to the light of High Pressure Sodium bulbs that give off an orange-yellow light. "Just as there are regulations and standards for 'classic' pollutants, there should also be regulations and rules for the pollution stemming from artificial light at night," says Prof. Abraham Haim of the University of Haifa. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-white-suppresses-body-production-melatonin.html Health Mon, 12 Sep 2011 09:39:21 EST news235039005 A natural yellowing of the eye lens that absorbs blue light has been linked to sleep disorders in a group of test volunteers, according to a study in the September 1 issue of the journal Sleep. As this type of lens discoloration worsened with age, so did the risk of insomnia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-aging-eyes-linked-sleepless-nights.html Health Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:01:42 EST news234068476 A New Drug Class paper published Online First by The Lancet looks at the use of melatonin and its analogues—traditionally used to modify the body's internal clock (circadian system)—in the treatment of major depression. Agomelatine is an analogue that shows particular promise, since it provides similar levels of antidepressant activity as some other common antidepressants, while also improving the sleep-wake patterns of those treated. The paper is by Professor Ian B Hickie, Brain & Mind Research Institute, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia, and Associate Professor Naomi L Rogers, Central Queensland University, Mackay, QLD, Australia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-melatonin-analogue-agomelatine-role-major.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 17 May 2011 18:30:01 EST news224852939