In medical school, doctors barely learn about the pineal gland. Maybe it’s mentioned in a lecture, then quickly forgotten.
It is a pea-sized gland near the center of the brain that secretes a hormone called melatonin in response to how much light hits our eyes. Melatonin keeps us in rhythm with the day and season; for example, we produce more of it in summer and less in winter.
Now you know about as much as one family physician who at first confused the hormone this past week with melanin, which is a pigment that gives color to skin and hair. Hard to believe, given the buzz about melatonin throughout the country in recent weeks.
In early August, Newsweek published a generally favorable article about the potential anti-aging benefits of melatonin without any significant short-term side effects. It reiterated a Massachusetts Institute of Technology study that made the media rounds in mid-1994 and reviewed assorted other pieces of research conducted since then. At the same time, a new book with an enticing title arrived in stores and made the satellite rounds on television newscasts: “The Melatonin Miracle: Nature’s Age-Reversing, Disease-Fighting, Sex-Enhacing Hormone” (Simon & Schuster) by Walter Pierpaoli and Dr. William Regelson.
Health food stores like the venerable Sherwyn’s in the Lincoln Park area have been selling about as much as they can stock. Even a downtown Walgreens pharmacist said it is moving briskly as an over-the-counter item stocked behind the pharmacy desk. Depending on the brand, 60 tablets cost between $5 and $12.
But there are questions to be answered. Does the stuff work? Is it safe? Are people overreacting in a typical fashion to a “wonder drug” that promises long life? The list is long, but that’s enough for now.
The MIT study made a case for melatonin as a sleep aid, showing it induces a good night’s rest without the addictive effects of prescription pills. The lead researcher, Dr. Richard Wurtman, has formed his own company to patent and manufacture a melatonin-based sleeping pill (since no company can patent the actual chemical).
Raymond Johnson, a 72-year-old retired postal worker on the South Side, is convinced. He started taking 7.5 milligrams every night in mid-August while weaning off his supply of doctor-ordered sleeping pills. By early September, he was off the drugs and sleeping through the night.
“I’ve had all kinds of troubles for years,” said Johnson, who regularly makes the long trip to shop at Sherwyn’s. “There’s nothing like it. It’s magnificent.”
While some doctors might approve melatonin for short-term use to combat insomnia or jet lag, most remain cautious about taking the synthetic hormone product (or the natural derivatives) on a consistent basis–even though preliminary studies on mice indicate slowdowns in aging, cancer and cardiovascular disease protection among other benefits.
The melatonin-wary group of physicians includes alternative practitioners, usually receptive to supplementation.
“I’m in alternative medicine all day long,” said Dr. David Edelberg, medical director of the American Holistic Center/Chicago on the North Side. “This is the worst of chemical medicine. It is urging you to take a synthetic hormone. Because it is being sold in health food stores , people think it is endorsed by alternative practitioners. That’s not the case.”
Edelberg said there is research to support the use of melatonin for short-term sleep disorders. But he is strongly against the long-term use of the hormone, which he characterized as powerful in even small doses (even less than the typical 3-milligram tablet). “We don’t have any studies to determine the long-term effect,” he said.
For his part, “Melatonin Miracle” co-author Regelson said his book has already served its purposes as it climbs to the upper echelons of the New York Times best-seller list.
“We feel we have discovered the aging clock and it went unnoticed in the scientific press,” said Regelson, a reseracher and practicing oncologist at the Medical College of Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth University. “So we wrote a consumer book to raise the issue and kick-start the National Institute of Aging, which is finally going to hold a melatonin conference. We need much more research to be done on humans rather than mice.”
Regelson, 70, said he takes 0.10 milligram of melatonin each night because he is sensitive to any higher doses (some people experience excessive grogginess).
“It’s very important for people to evaluate how melatonin affects them individually,” said Regelson. “Plus, people need to decide on whether they want to wait for the confirming research. I’m 70, I’ve decided not to wait. If you are in your 40s or 50s, you can let the research catch up.”
