Cardiovascular System

Medical Studies on Melatonin – Cardiovascular System

Melatonin plays a key role in cardiovascular health, for example in relation to arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease and heart attacks. This hormone has also proven to be a promising treatment method for stroke.

Melatonin as a blood pressure regulator

High blood pressure and the constriction of the blood vessels that this entails may have fatal consequences if the key organs are no longer sufficiently supplied with blood and can therefore no longer be supplied with enough oxygen. The result is a substantial increase in the risk of heart attack or stroke. Studies have demonstrated that melatonin reduces both blood pressure and vascular stiffness and therefore has very positive effects on cardiovascular health.

Melatonin reduces cell damage

Thanks to its highly anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties, melatonin can also significantly reduce the extent of cell damage that often occurs after a heart attack or stroke. Free radicals in particular can affect the severity of these medical emergencies, because the tissue damage that they cause is irreparable.

Protection from dangerous oxidative stress

Melatonin has proven to be highly efficient both in preventing and treating acute diseases. It protects against oxidative stress and establishes a balance between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines, and can, for example, in the event of a heart attack, even protect the heart from injury after myocardial ischaemia or during essential reperfusion.

Medical Studies on Melatonin – Cardiovascular System

Melatonin, cardiovascular disease and COVID-19: A potential therapeutic strategy?

2020-06 Dominguez-Rodriguez A, Abreu-Gonzalez P, Marik PE, Reiter RJ 

The mechanism for SARS-CoV-2 infection is the requisite binding of the virus to the membrane-bound form of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and internalization of the complex by the host cell. SARS-CoV-2 induced endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular injury are probably initiated by increases in the phosphorylation levels of JAK2 and STAT3 and resultant reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation. These pathological alterations are speculated to be strikingly reversed by melatonin.

The Effects of Melatonin Supplementation on Parameters of Mental Health, Glycemic Control, Markers of Cardiometabolic Risk, and Oxidative Stress in Diabetic Hemodialysis Patients: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

2020-05 Ostadmohammadi V, Soleimani A, Bahmani F, Aghadavod E, Ramezani R, Reiter RJ, Mansournia MA, Banikazemi Z, Soleimani M, Zaroudi M, Asemi Z

This study evaluated the effects of melatonin supplementation on parameters of mental health, glycemic control, markers of cardiometabolic risk, and oxidative stress in diabetic hemodialysis (HD) patients.

Melatonin alleviates cardiac fibrosis via inhibiting lncRNA MALAT1/miR-141-mediated NLRP3 inflammasome and TGF-β1/Smads signaling in diabetic cardiomyopathy.

2020-04 Che H, Wang Y, Li H, Li Y, Sahil A, Lv J, Liu Y, Yang Z, Dong R, Xue H, Wang L

Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland, and it has extensive beneficial effects on various tissue and organs; however, whether melatonin has any effect on cardiac fibrosis in the pathogenesis of diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is still unknown.

Melatonin has profound effects on mitochondrial dynamics in myocardial ischaemia/reperfusion.

2019-11 Dube K, Dhanabalan K, Salie R, Blignaut M, Huisamen B, Lochner A

Research focus recently shifted to mitochondrial dynamics and the role of fusion and fission in cardioprotection. The aim of this study was to evaluate (i) the function and dynamics of mitochondria isolated from hearts exposed to ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) (ii) the effects of melatonin, a powerful cardioprotectant, on mitochondrial dynamics in I/R.

Infusion of Melatonin Into the Paraventricular Nucleus Ameliorates Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury by Regulating Oxidative Stress and Inflammatory Cytokines.

2019-10 Yang JB, Kang YM, Zhang C, Yu XJ, Chen WS

Melatonin, the receptors for which are abundant in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN), can protect the heart from myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (MI/R) injury. The aim of this study was to determine whether the infusion of melatonin into the PVN protects the heart from MI/R injury by suppressing oxidative stress or regulating the balance between proinflammatory cytokines and anti-inflammatory cytokines in MI/R rats.

Melatonin: action as antioxidant and potential applications in human disease and aging.

2010-11 Bonnefont-Rousselot D, Collin F.

This review aims at describing the beneficial properties of melatonin related to its antioxidant effects. Oxidative stress, i.e., an imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species and antioxidant defences, is involved in several pathological conditions such as cardiovascular or neurological disease, and in aging. Therefore, research for antioxidants has developed. However, classical antioxidants often failed to exhibit beneficial effects, especially in metabolic diseases.

Beneficial effects of melatonin in cardiovascular disease.

2010-05 Reiter RJ, Tan DX, Paredes SD, Fuentes-Broto L

The experimental data obtained from both human and rodent studies suggest that melatonin may have utility in the treatment of several cardiovascular conditions. In particular, melatonin's use in reducing the severity of essential hypertension should be more widely considered. In rodent studies melatonin has been shown to be highly effective in limiting abnormal cardiac physiology and the loss of critical heart tissue resulting from ischemia/reperfusion injury.

Administration of melatonin after onset of ischemia reduces the volume of cerebral infarction in a rat middle cerebral artery occlusion stroke model.

2003-03 Pei Z, Pang SF, Cheung RT

In both permanent and transient 3-hour middle cerebral artery occlusion rat stroke models, a single intraperitoneal injection of melatonin at 5 or 15 mg/kg given before ischemia was shown to reduce infarct volume at 72 hours. The present study was conducted to examine the treatment time window when melatonin was commenced after onset of ischemia.

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