Melatonin Protocol for COVID-19

This new article from "Psychology Today" discusses melatonin and Covid-19. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sleep-newzzz/202005/could-melatonin-help-protect-against-covid-19 Here is a quote from the article: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ' This capacity of melatonin, to target this inflammasome that is so critical to the most serious and life-threatening complications of COVID-19, along with melatonin's high degree of safety and benefits for sleep, is drawing attention from scientists as a therapy to de-escalate the immune response to coronavirus, potentially reducing the severity of COVID-19. ' ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Oddly, Psychology Today magazine is aware of the potential of melatonin for Covid-19, but our scientists that are specifically working on Covid-19 are silent??? I don't really understand how so many government agencies in so many different countries can be searching relentlessly for potential ways to fight this virus, but they just skip over a molecule that through research is known to block, inhibit or ameliorate many of the known bad effects of Covid-19??? Art

Let's discuss the bad first 😩😩😩 and the good second! Covid-19 was originally thought to zero in on the lungs and the ACE-2 receptors located there. More recently it has been found that C-19 is attracted to ACE-2 receptors in other areas of the body and the virus is now known to attack much more than the lungs! C-19 autopsied patients are showing that it is attacking the heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, brain, skin, endothelium and is causing blood clotting which is causing heart attacks and strokes in patients who are otherwise asymptomatic and not considered to be in the high risk groups. Yes, the virus is causing much more damage system wide than initially thought. C-19 is causing a 4 times increase in Kawasaki disease reports in New York. The disease is attacking the vascular system and causing very elevated oxidative stress levels as well as significantly elevated inflammation. It also seems to be causing significantly more problems in black people who are not necessarily in the at risk groups, but possibly should be. C-19 is causing heart attacks, strokes, heart damage, pneumonia, liver damage, lung damage, organ failure, Kawasaki or Kawasaki like disease, rash up to full body coverage, blood clotting in different areas of the body that can potentially result in the need for amputation, neuronal damage, intestinal issues and death and this is an incomplete list! Yes, this disease is very serious indeed, even for those not to be considered in the high risk groups. Many of the heart attack and stroke victims are much younger than these two conditions are generally associated with, with no previous symptoms and doctors are only finding out these patients have C-19 when they start working on them and see the damage that is known to be associated with C-19 and that is when they are tested and confirmed to have C-19. Yes, this is one f'd up disease that is considerably worse than initially thought and it seems like new troubling aspects of this disease are being discovered each week if not almost daily !!! Now let's discuss the good! 😂😂😂 The good news is that melatonin works against this disease process at multiple levels of disease progression and at every place in the body where the disease has been found because melatonin can readily penetrate body tissues (including its metabolites) and easily cross the BBB to express its very potent antioxidant and antiinflammatory effects as well as other positive effects. Melatonin is a protector of all major organs and is protective of endothelial cells as well as the skin. Melatonin has anti-clotting abilities. Melatonin has shown itself to "upregulate the gene expression" of some of the bodies own very potent antioxidants such as Catalase(CAT), Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) and this aspect of melatonin is very important because it is very likely that all of these natural antioxidant defense mechanisms of the body are being depleted very significantly trying to fight this disease because of the multiple areas of the body being affected simultaneously, so melatonin boosting their production can help to level the playing field giving the body more than a fighting chance to defeat this virus. Since it has been proven in autopsy that C-19 is attacking multiple areas of the body simultaneously, it is as though the body is fighting multiple diseases all at the same time!Never show up to a gang fight with just yourself! Melatonin's boosting of the body's potent antioxidant system is absolutely needed to deal with something worse than it would normally ever have to deal with in moderate and severe patients. Add to this melatonin's potent and broad antiinflammatory abilities and things are starting to look hopeful! To add a little more brightness to that light at the end of the tunnel, melatonin itself is a highly potent scavenger of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), Reactive Nitrogen Species(RNS), hydroxyl radicals, Hydrogen Peroxide(H2O2) and Peroxynitrite (ONOO). All of these radicals are thought to be highly active in C-19 and doing a lot of damage. One melatonin molecule can scavenge up to 10 oxygen radicals while many other antioxidants can only scavenge and neutralize one oxygen radical 1:1. Melatonin inhibits NADPH Oxidase which is a very bad player that ends up generating ROS in large amounts and damaging almost all cells in its path. Now let's add in the vitamin C that Dr. Neel is using alongside melatonin in his C-19 patients. Vitamin C is synergistic with the antioxidant and antiinflammatory aspects of melatonin! Together they are better than either one alone and vitamin C pales in comparison to the broad ranging effects that are melatonin, but adding it to melatonin makes melatonin more potent. That light at the end of the tunnel is looking brighter! 💡🔦💡🔦💡🔦💡 A couple of points I would like to make. Originally some people thought that inhalation of food grade hydrogen peroxide via a nebulizer or ultrasonic vaporizer would be sufficient to kill the virus and it likely will in the lungs if you use HP as early as possible, but HP is an oxidant and Catalase will come along and neutralize it soon enough, turning it into water and oxygen, which means HP will not have staying power and more importantly, it suggests that HP will never make it past the lungs to other areas of the body where the virus may be thriving. So I would not want to rely on HP alone. Though I am a believer and user of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), although inhaled AgNPs are likely to have staying power in the lungs before being absorbed into the blood I do not believe that by itself it will be enough. It will require drinking the AgNPs also and that combination with melatonin and vitamin C, may just be what it will take to put this virus down as quickly as possible, in my opinion. Although I think melatonin and vitamin C may be sufficient, I think that the addition of AgNPs will speed the process considerably! Art

This is a reminder for people in the USA who might think that things are getting under control as far as Covid-19 because Trump is encouraging governors to open their local economies. The following will hopefully explain why that may not be the best move at this time! There are currently 3,897,925 cases of Covid-19 in the world. Of that number, the US is accounting for a solid 33% of those cases, but the US only accounts for 4.25% of the world population. There are currently 269,519 dead from Covid-19. Of that number, the US is accounting for 28% and again that is 28% when we only represent 4.25% of the world population. The US is clearly way ahead of any other country in the world by a very wide margin in terms of cases and deaths! The next closest country in terms of cases is Spain with 256,855 cases whereas the US has 1,286,024 or over 5 times as many cases! In terms of deaths, the US currently has 76,672 deaths from Covid-19 while the UK (2nd) has 30,615 deaths or less than half of the US deaths! Compared to the rest of the world, the US is accounting for over 28% of the deaths, again, even though the US accounts for only 4.25% of the total population of the world! If that does not give Trump pause to push for opening the economy, what will??? Art

Here is a link to a biomedical scientist who agrees that melatonin should be used in Covid-19 patients, just as Dr. Neel is doing. https://devinenews.com/biomed-scientist-believes-melatonin-can-help-fight-covid-and-post-infection-complications/ and new information regarding melatonin: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08830185.2020.1756284?scroll=top&needAccess=true& Art

I ended up doing three evenings of melatonin at 80 mgs per evening in four 20 mg doses per night and it seems I was able to tolerate it with no apparent problems. I didn't really notice anything while taking it except that a cough I have had since the first week of February after catching a Flu/cold the day after Superbowl is gone. It was a choking cough when I would talk and would seem to worsen each day starting in the early evening. More recently it was starting first thing in the morning and worsening as the day went on. I was considering trying a lot of things for it, but I didn't because I figured it would just go away on its own. I should have known better because I have had a cough like this at least five times in my life and each time it took 6 months to a year to go away on its own. It is different than the productive coughs I have had because this one is like a spasm when I talk. I found that I kept talking softer and softer so I wouldn't get the spasm and cough to try and relieve the cough. There was no apparent phlegm at all once the cold was gone. Well, I am very happy to say that it appears that cough is now just a bad memory! The day after my melatonin experiment, I thought the cough might be gone, but now I know it's gone and I can talk at normal level again! Okay, I've always referred to melatonin as one of my favorite supplements, but it just went up a notch for me! That flu, in hindsight, had quite a few aspects that are considered Covid-19 symptoms, but at the time, February third, I was not aware of Covid-19 so I didn't really give it much thought then. Now I realize I had a sore throat for 3 to 4 days accompanied by fatigue, headache, bodyache and fever which I didn't bother measuring and that was followed with a cold and in total it took me a month to get over everything except that horrible nagging cough! I hope eventually that my doctor can do an antibody test to determine if it was Covid-19. That's the update for today! Art

In yesterday's MedCram video (62) as well as today's video (63), Dr. Seheult goes into greater detail about the damage being done to the endothelium as well as the effects of this damage at same and downstream points, one of which is the reduction of Angiotensin 1,7 and the runaway oxidation that ensues. Today's video goes into more detail about the downstream effects of the damage to the endothelium as well as the massive generation of ROS. Melatonin is also a signaling molecule that upregulates gene expression of antioxidant enzymes while itself being a potent ROS, RNS and hydroxyl radical scavenger while having antiinflammatory effects when systemic inflammation becomes elevated. Melatonin has shown itself to be a protector of the endothelium which this video shows is damaged as part of the disease process resulting in downstream damage in this cascade of events. Melatonin also helps prevent reduction of Angiotensin 1,7 which would be useful in diminishing disease progression. Dr. Seheult describes how Covid-19 greatly reduces angiotensin 1,7. If that isn't enough, melatonin is also an inhibitor of NADPH Oxidase! This video series is continuing to show how melatonin has shown many pathways by which it can negatively impact the disease process of Covid-19. Dr. Seheult and MedCram are generating a very lengthy list about known aspects of the method of action of this disease. What would make a great video at this point is one that compares their list to the known activities of melatonin! MELATONIN VS COVID-19! https://youtu.be/DtPwfihjyrY https://youtu.be/Aj2vB_VITXQ

Based on yesterday's MedCram video, there is a lot of C-19 related damage to cells throughout the body including endothelial damage plus blood clotting which is resulting in hyper elevated levels of reactive oxygen species and inflammation and ultimately stroke or heart attack in C-19 patients of relatively young age who may also be symptomless right up to the stroke or heart attack. Among all of the things that melatonin is known for, such as: increaser of the bodies own potent antioxidant system, oxidant neutralization and radical scavenging, cardiovascular protectant, anti-inflammatory, anti-clotting/anticoagulating, anti-ARDS activity, anti-ALI activity, endothelial protectant and blood thinning are part of its healthful effects. In my opinion, this video adds to the case for melatonin in multiple ways to help ameliorate many of these viral-related activities that are resulting in stroke and heart attacks in the relatively young, sometimes before any symptoms are apparent! His comments on hydroxychloroquine did not sound very promising. Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=22Bn8jsGI54&feature=emb_title Art

Art, Thank you for sharing this!

So I went another night (3 nights) at 80 mg and I slept through the night which is unusual for me. I woke up a little earlier than usual and feel rested. So this seems to be the pattern from taking 80 mg per evening, uninterrupted sleep through the night and waking a little earlier than normal. I can live with this so I am about as prepared as can be now to use melatonin if I get Covid-19. Art

I thought this would be a good time to add information to this post that explains what the science experts on melatonin think about its use for Covid-19. The first quote is from Dr. Russel Reiter and mentions what he thinks about what Dr. Neel is doing with his Covid-19 patients: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: One of those supporting the idea is Russell Reiter, PhD (Professor of Cell Biology at UT Health Center in San Antonio). Reiter's thoughts were included in an online article last Wednesday. Reiter is one of the world's leading melatonin researchers and he is also the editor and chief of the Journal of Pineal Research and on the editorial board of 7 other journals. Last Wednesday, April 8th, he stated, “I understand Dr. Neel has treated patients successfully with melatonin. This is certainly newsworthy. Likewise, his rationale for the use of melatonin as a potential treatment for COVID-19 is important. A published report supports his rationale, COVID-19: Melatonin as a potential adjuvant treatment”, stated Professor Russel J. Reiter, Ph.D in an interview. “Dr. Neel's rationale for the use of melatonin as a potential treatment for COVID-19 is justified on the basis of the actions of this molecule”, said Reiter who was a part of this report that was published in February-March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, co authored in conjunction with several medical professionals in China. Here is an article by Dr. Reiter discussing melatonin https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jpi.12360 Next quote: The following information is about two more researchers who also support this idea in their research paper titled, “Potential utility of melatonin in deadly infectious diseases related to the overreaction of innate immune response and destructive inflammation: focus on COVID-19.” The authors, Assistant Professor at UT Health Center in San Antonio Dunxian Tan, and a German Professor Ruegiger Hardeland, suggest that “The underlining mechanisms for the high mortality commonly involves free radical attack and destructive inflammation in numerous tissues and organs.” For example, the targeted tissue for COVID-19 is the lung, they explain in the research paper. “Massive inflammatory reaction is caused by the exaggerated innate immune response of the host against the pathogens. This hyperactive innate immune response is associated with the release of a large quantity of cytokines referred as a “cytokine storm”…..This becomes a vicious cycle; if this vicious cycle is not interrupted.” It goes on to assert that “All of the authors mentioned above believe that melatonin is a molecule which has the capacity to break this vicious cycle. Melatonin is a powerful free radical scavenger to reduce the tissue oxidative damage and it is also an effective anti-inflammatory agent to depress the “cytokine storm”. As a result, melatonin may increase the tolerance of the host to the pathogens and save precious time for the patients to develop an adaptive immune-response and finally recover from the pathogens' attack. In addition, melatonin also promotes the adaptive immune response by increasing T lymphocyte proliferation and B cells to generate specific antibodies. Melatonin has a huge safety margin and is readily available.”

My doctor prescribed melatonin as a sleep aid several years ago and I have had no health problems related to taking it. I take it every night 20 minutes before bedtime (5 mg).

Dr. Neel is recommending adult patients take 80 mg of melatonin every 24 hours and has seen improvement in each of his patients in just 24 hours with a reduction in symptoms. Since that is his suggestion and it is my intention to use melatonin if I were to get Covid-19, assuming I have not already had it, I tried taking 80 mgs last night in 4 divided doses. I took 20 mgs at 7:00 pm, 20 mg at 8:30 pm, 20 mg at 10 pm and 20 mg at 11:30 pm. I woke up this morning expecting the "melatonin hangover" that I initially felt in a previous months long test of melatonin at 70 mg, but to my surprise, there was no melatonin hangover! I actually felt quite rested and not sluggish at all! I did not include vitamin C even though he has mentioned its use with the melatonin because in the Doctor's Hospital trial of melatonin, they didn't use vitamin C and they got rapid results with melatonin, so I just thought I would keep it simple for now. Well that and my vitamin C order has not arrived yet! To be fair, I do take 30 mg of melatonin a night in 3 divided doses as what I have previously described as melatonin 123, almost every night, so I'm sure that is a contributing factor to why going from 30 mg to 80 mg didn't produce the hangover or have any other obvious effect on me. So now I know that 80 mg / day of melatonin should not be a problem for me and again, I reiterate that I am not recommending that anyone else do what I am doing, I am only describing my own experience. If anyone chooses to utilize Dr. Neels melatonin protocol it should be done under a doctor's supervision in order to be safe and make sure melatonin is compatible with everything you are taking. I have an idea (speculation at this time) about melatonin and Covid-19 that is based on the available literature about melatonin and Dr. Neel's results in his small group of patients as well as the little information that the Doctors Hospital in Manila has shared so far. I think that melatonin may alter the immune environment in such a way that the virus can not cause a cytokine storm or allow pneumonia to get started because melatonin's potent reactive oxygen species scavenging abilities as well as its reactive nitrogen species scavenging abilities in conjunction with its potent antiinflammatory qualities including inhibition of IL-6 and other inflammatory mediators and inhibition of lung inflammation by way of modulated expression of Apelin 13 as well as inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome, very effectively seems to reduce lung inflammation and damage to a level that is no longer dangerous and it does it very quickly based on Dr. Neels results. In the Philippines, it even seems to work fast and well with patients who already have pneumonia. Three main things attributed to Covid-19 that has shown the ability to kill patients are severe Covid-19 induced pneumonia, the now famous cytokine storm and the addition of a ventilator. Melatonin seems to be able to prevent or ameliorate the first two items which automatically ends the need for a ventilator! Melatonin is also protective of all major organs which is important since autopsies are showing liver, lung, kidneys and heart damage that is attributed to Covid-19. Viral particles are also found in the brain, so it is felt that it is possible that Covid-19 could also cause damage to the brain if not checked early enough. So if you eliminate or greatly limit the 3 ways that Covid-19 has shown the ability to kill patients, then how much of a threat is Covid-19 once melatonin is introduced? My speculative answer to that question is very minimal. All of these actions of melatonin that work contrary to the normal disease process can allow the body to do what it is naturally supposed to do, destroy invaders to the system which in this case if the SARS CoV-2 virus. The body can now defend itself without the deadly cytokine storm, against the now marginalized virus. This is what studies suggest as possible and what Dr. Neel is showing in his patients which means that the studies tend to confirm Dr. Neels results and those results tend to confirm the studies. Given the above, melatonin seems to convert the killer virus into something that is not deadly at all. If the virus mutates as it has already with the known A strain, B strain and C strains that are already seen in different areas, there is a chance that by the time a vaccine is developed, it may not be effective against the current strain if that strain has mutated extensively. These mutations have occurred fairly quickly suggesting that extensive mutation is a very real prospect when it comes to SARS CoV-2. Whereas the known actions of melatonin are likely to be able to deal with mutations of this virus. It will take further testing of melatonin against SARS CoV-2 in Covid-19 patients to take this from speculation to fact, but if Dr. Neel's patient base continues to grow and other doctors take his lead as it appears may be likely, then that point of clarification and understanding may not be far away at all. Melatonin is showing the potential, via its ability to control and reverse the ability of Covid-19 to be so destructive within the human body, to actually take many people in the "at risk groups"off of that list! So this could make the virus more of a nuisance than a killer! Melatonin may actually be the answer to safely controlling the virus while allowing the economy to open again because it makes the virus tolerable to humans with minimal to no deleterious effects. Yes, people will still get infected, but melatonin appears to make such infection "livable" while allowing the body to make plenty of antibodies against SARS CoV-2. Still speculation at this point, but continued positive reports on melatonin can potentially turn speculation to reality! My other thought is, how many other practical choices do we have with what is currently known and available? Art

Hi Art. I take 10 mg every night. I have COPD. I have tried to take a higher dose but I got a terrible headache. Are the effects different for everybody?

Art, Really great info. I use melatonin and tart cherry ever evening but I will add this to my son's supplement "cocktail" that I have given him. He is a grocery clerk. I give him the info, he researches it for himself, and then we have a curbside pick up at mom's dinner and I make him a to-go bag adding new supplements. I'm really thankful for this article. I need my people safe! I love the hope of this.

Thank you for this post, Art! I am wondering how people can tolerate 80 mg of Melatonin per day without being completely out sleeping all day? I have been talking 5-10 mg Melatonin daily for years but I can't even imagine taking 70-80 mg/ day. Wouldn't that cause sedation? Also what is your take on the latest findings about COVID19 presenting more as a High Altitude Sicknesses than an upper respiratory viral infection? Thanks a lot!

Dear Art, Thank you for your information. I am over 70 and I sleep at least 12 hours a day. Perhaps if I got to sleep faster it would help. I am going to try some melatonin. You said not all can tolerate it. What would be the symptoms of that? I have ordered a product with melatonin in it. It has other things meant to help improve sleep. I think I sleep so much because I don't sleep well. I have sleep apnea. The ingredients in the product I ordered are: Melatonin shwagandha extract Hydroxytryptophan L-theanine Magnesium Zinc Arginine Lysine

understood, I'm taking zinc as well and thank you for your site and info.

Art, Thank you for this!!

Very helpful! However I just got through 6 weeks of Covid 19. No homeopathic remedies came close except for ACV. I drank 3 bottles. I drink it straight.

Dear Art, Thank you very much for this fantastic article. You put so much time and effort into researching supplements and then give out your information freely on Earth Clinic for everyone to benefit from. A giant thank you from all of us at Earth Clinic. We appreciate you so much!! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ A friend is asking what a daily maintenance dose of melatonin would be. She's buying bottles for her whole family in anticipation of a run on melatonin, thanks to your article.

Has anyone else experienced hallucinations when taking melatonin? I have used it twice for insomnia and both times experienced disturbing visual phenomena.

Awesome article, Art. I have a national podcast, the holistic navigator, where i interview dr smith, medical director of life extension, on this exact topic. to learn his opinion on dosage, log onto https://www.theholisticnavigator.com/podcast/arm-yourself-against-viral-infections Also, www.nutritionw.com has the best prices and only allows quality products on their site. ed jones...

Hi Art, I've been using melatonin 5mg in PM for sleep dissolve from CVS, but you mentioned the combination of Melatonin and Quercetin...?? ? where do I find that or is it not combined in the Melatonin you are suggesting. I have been using this from CVS, and sometimes it works and other not.. Then I just take one more at a later time of the PM, like 2:30am when I wake up and can't sleep. My mind is very active and does not shut off... I do wake up sluggish, so I also think Melatonin has an effect when one wakes up...but then it wears off.