Melatonin, insomnia and the use of melatonergic drugs
Due to inconsistency among reports on the therapeutic efficacy of melatonin, attention has been focused on the development of more potent melatonin analogues with prolonged effects. Melatonergic drugs, ramelteon and agomelatine have been effective in treating either sleep disorders or sleep distur...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Informatics Publishing Ltd. and Society for Reproductive Biology and Comparative Endocrinology
2012
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://eprints.usm.my/44449/ http://eprints.usm.my/44449/1/Melatonin_insomnia_and_the_use_of_melato.pdf |
| Summary: | Due to inconsistency among reports on the therapeutic efficacy of melatonin, attention has been focused on the
development of more potent melatonin analogues with prolonged effects. Melatonergic drugs, ramelteon and
agomelatine have been effective in treating either sleep disorders or sleep disturbances associated with depressive
disorders. MT1 and MT2 melatonergic receptor agonist, ramelteon, was found effective in increasing total sleep
time and sleep efficiency, and in reducing sleep latency in patients with insomnia. No reduction in its efficacy was
found even after 6-12 months of continuous use. The mechanism of sleep promoting action of ramelteon is entirely
different from that of conventional hypnotics that are in use today. Ramelteon’s use is not associated with any
adverse effects even after six months to one year after its continuous usage. Another melatonergic drug, agomelatine,
has also been found effective in improving sleep efficiency and quality, and this action of agomelatine is suggested
to be one of the major mechanism by which agomelatine ameliorates depressive symptoms in patients with major
depressive disorders and bipolar disorders. |
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