Redness, tenderness, and swelling of the skin are common during radiotherapy for breast cancer.

Melatonin-based creams protect from these effects in rats. So, researchers at Tel Aviv University, in Israel, tested it in women with breast cancer. (more…)

It’s just a report on 3 patients, but it’s important because some people with autism are already taking St. John’s wort. (more…)

Sleep disturbance is common in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and melatonin is widely prescribed despite a lack of guidelines.

Researchers in France reviewed the evidence. (more…)

Evidence for CAM to treat depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been reviewed by researchers at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, in Kenner.

Here’s what we know. (more…)

During the Sleep 2009 meeting, researchers from Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, Tennessee reported that in children with autism spectrum disorders, low-dose melatonin may be an effective treatment for insomnia. (more…)

Researchers from Duke University Hospital, in Durham, North Carolina found positive effects in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). (more…)

Dr. Desiree Lie from the University of California in Orange has reviewed the evidence for a range of conditions that are treated with melatonin.

Here are her thoughts on its use to treat insomnia. (more…)

Researchers from Columbia University in New York City looked at the evidence in breast cancer patients. (more…)

Coronary artery calcification is the accumulation of calcified fatty deposits on the inside of the arteries that supply blood to the heart. Their presence  is a predictor of future coronary heart disease. Researchers from the University of Chicago in Illinois report that sleeping longer is associated with lower calcification.

Let’s review the research and reviews from 2008 that looked at CAM options to treat insomnia. (more…)

Researchers from the Netherlands set about to determine whether the progressive changes in symptoms seen in dementia might be affected by the 2 major synchronizers of the circadian timing system: bright light and melatonin. (more…)

Here’s a follow-up to an earlier post on the use of CAM in the US in 2007 as surveyed by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). (more…)

Good news, all of the products tested passed the analyses for melatonin and lead contamination. (more…)

An article published on Medscape discusses the impact of stress on insomnia. In addition to a brief mention of mindfulness, the author limits the discussion to benzodiazepines or ramelteon (Rozerem), which acts on melatonin receptors.

There are so many other options that the author fails to even mention. So, I’ll mention them here. (more…)

Drs. Kalyanakrishnan Ramakrishnan and Dewey Scheid from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center have published a review of treatment options for sleeplessness.

Melatonin, valerian, and several non-drug treatments are compared to benzodiazepines and non-benzodiazepine options. (more…)

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has released its biennial revision of “the yellow book,” a health guide for international travel.

It’s comprehensive. The focus here is on Chapter 6: Jet Lag. (more…)

Patients with the highest risk for sleep disturbance are those with pain, mental illness, limited activity, and overall “poor physical and mental health.” (more…)

In 1993, Senator Orrin Hatch said, “most of these [herbal remedies] have been on the market for 4,000 years, and the real issue is risk. And there is not much risk in any of these products.”

Now, the American Association of Poison Control Centers defines that risk after more than 20 years of data collection.
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A study presented recently during the Society of Integrative Oncology’s Third International Conference in Boston showed that taking antioxidant supplements during external beam radiation therapy for prostate cancer has no effect on PSA (prostate specific antigen) levels.

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Bandolier has reviewed melatonin and is unimpressed.

Here’s what they found.

(more…)