Melatonin and Ulcerative Colitis: A Pilot Clinical Trial

Summary

Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease that afflicts up to one million people in the U.S. Symptoms include rectal urgency, bloody diarrhea, moderate to severe abdominal pain, fever, and fatigue. Melatonin is a hormone that is associated with sleep and other body functions that may be related to health. Melatonin is produced in the pineal gland and, in fact, it is produced in even greater amounts in the gut. Melatonin appears to be important in gastrointestinal tract physiology and health, and data from cell and animal experiments, and some studies in humans, suggest that supplemental melatonin may help ameliorate colitis. Given that current treatments for ulcerative colitis are not always effective, and often have serious side effects, there is considerable interest in finding alternative treatments for this disease. However, experimental data on the ability of melatonin to improve ulcerative colitis in humans are lacking. To address this, we plan to conduct a pilot clinical trial (60 adult male and female participants) that will obtain preliminary data about the effectiveness of melatonin supplementation as a treatment for ulcerative colitis in adult men and women with the disease. The "Melatonin and Ulcerative Colitis" study funded by a grant from the Broad Foundation's Broad Medical Research Program (http://www.broadmedical.org).

Timeline

Start

2009-01

Primary completion

2010-04

Completion

2010-04

Publications

• Background D'Haens G, Sandborn WJ, Feagan BG, Geboes K, Hanauer SB, Irvine EJ, Lemann M, Marteau P, Rutgeerts P, Scholmerich J, Sutherland LR. A review of activity indices and efficacy end points for clinical trials of medical therapy in adults with ulcerative colitis. Gastroenterology. 2007 Feb;132(2):763-86. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2006.12.038. Epub 2006 Dec 20. No abstract available.
• Background von Gall C, Stehle JH, Weaver DR. Mammalian melatonin receptors: molecular biology and signal transduction. Cell Tissue Res. 2002 Jul;309(1):151-62. doi: 10.1007/s00441-002-0581-4. Epub 2002 May 18.
• Background Li JH, Yu JP, Yu HG, Xu XM, Yu LL, Liu J, Luo HS. Melatonin reduces inflammatory injury through inhibiting NF-kappaB activation in rats with colitis. Mediators Inflamm. 2005 Aug 31;2005(4):185-93. doi: 10.1155/MI.2005.185.
• Background Nosal'ova V, Zeman M, Cerna S, Navarova J, Zakalova M. Protective effect of melatonin in acetic acid induced colitis in rats. J Pineal Res. 2007 Apr;42(4):364-70. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-079X.2007.00428.x.
• Background Song GH, Leng PH, Gwee KA, Moochhala SM, Ho KY. Melatonin improves abdominal pain in irritable bowel syndrome patients who have sleep disturbances: a randomised, double blind, placebo controlled study. Gut. 2005 Oct;54(10):1402-7. doi: 10.1136/gut.2004.062034. Epub 2005 May 24.
• Background Maldonado MD, Calvo JR. Melatonin usage in ulcerative colitis: a case report. J Pineal Res. 2008 Oct;45(3):339-40. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-079X.2008.00584.x. Epub 2008 Mar 10. No abstract available.
• Background Lu WZ, Gwee KA, Moochhalla S, Ho KY. Melatonin improves bowel symptoms in female patients with irritable bowel syndrome: a double-blind placebo-controlled study. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2005 Nov 15;22(10):927-34. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2036.2005.02673.x.
• Background Saha L, Malhotra S, Rana S, Bhasin D, Pandhi P. A preliminary study of melatonin in irritable bowel syndrome. J Clin Gastroenterol. 2007 Jan;41(1):29-32. doi: 10.1097/MCG.0b013e31802df84c.

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