Study Shows Melatonin, Asthma Bad Combo 30447

Study Shows Melatonin, Asthma Bad Combo

DENVERResearchers reportedmelatonin may not be a good option for asthmatic insomniacs. In a studypublished in the September Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunologuy (112,3:513-7,2003) (www.sciencedirect.com), melatonin was shown to promoteinflammation, a factor in asthma. And, because melatonin is released at night,it may most adversely affect asthmatics with night asthma.

The study involved seven people with nocturnal asthma, 13 withnon-nocturnal asthma and 11 healthy controls. After establishing a regular sleepschedule for seven days, patients had blood samples taken while asleep on theeighth night. The samples were then evaluated for melatonin levels. Studysubjects were also given lung function tests before falling asleep and afterwaking up.

Nocturnal asthmatics had the highest melatonin levels and thegreatest drop in lung function during sleep. Levels averaged 67.5 pg/mL comparedto 61.1 pg/mL in non-nocturnal asthmatics and 53.5 pg/mL in healthy controls.Lung function dropped an average of 18.8 percent in nocturnal asthmaticscompared to 5.1 percent in non-nocturnal asthmatics. In healthy controls, lung function increased 1.5 percentduring sleep.

These finding suggest that melatonin naturally produced bypeople with nocturnal asthma increases inflammation in their airways, leading toworse lung function, said study author Rand Sutherland, M.D., M.P.H., out ofthe National Jewish Medical and Research Center. Given that previous work hasshown that melatonin promotes inflammation in the cells of both nocturnal andnon-nocturnal asthmatics, any person with asthma should be cautious about takingsupplements that would further raise his melatonin blood levels.

Sutherland was referring to a 2002 study in which he andcolleagues found patients with nocturnal asthma had a cytokine response tomelatonin that was greater than that of control subjects or patients withnon-nocturnal asthma (Am J Respir Crit Care Med, 166, 8:1055-61, 2002).