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Melatonin: A clinical perspective
Author(s) -
Penev Palmen D.,
Zee Phyllis C.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
annals of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.764
H-Index - 296
eISSN - 1531-8249
pISSN - 0364-5134
DOI - 10.1002/ana.410420404
Subject(s) - melatonin , pineal gland , multitude , neuroendocrinology , disease , clinical trial , medicine , perspective (graphical) , clinical practice , neuroscience , intensive care medicine , psychology , hormone , computer science , epistemology , physical therapy , philosophy , artificial intelligence
Over the last several decades the pineal gland has emerged as an active neuroendocrine transducer of important environmental information. However, the current understanding of the function of its major hormone, melatonin, in humans remains ill defined and based exclusively on corelative observations. In a similar manner, the multitude of phenomenological descriptions of the effects of exogenous melatonin is contrasted by the limited understanding of the underlying mechanisms and the lack of firmly established clinical applications for the hormone. Future randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled clinical studies wil be necessary to determine the precise indications, treatment regimens, and safety of melatonin in clinical practice. The recent rapid progress in the area of melatonin research should lead to a better understanding of its role in human health and disease.