Blood Clots, Heart Disease, and How Melatonin Can Help

on Feb 19, 2022| Modified on Oct 04, 2024
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Blood Clots, Heart Disease and Melatonin.

When you look at all of the reasons that Dr. Malcom Kendrick recently gave Dr. Mercola as his hypothesis that blood clots might be the root cause for arteriosclerosis and the resulting cardiovascular diseases, and then look at those reasons compared to melatonin in studies, you quickly see that melatonin ameliorates many of them, including blood clots.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18289163/

Here is a quote from the above study:

>>> '  A single dose of oral melatonin was associated with lower plasma levels of procoagulant factors 60 min later. There might be a dose-response relationship between the plasma concentration of melatonin and coagulation activity. ' <<<

This is the same reason that Covid-19 is able to damage the endothelium and cause blood clots to form rapidly in the wake of the damage and cause heart attacks and strokes even in younger adults. It's the damage-causing inflammation and oxidative stress that Covid-19 creates against the endothelium. Stop that, and stop the damage in its tracks.

Dr. Neel's work illustrates that melatonin shows the potential to stop some of this damage from Covid-19 to the endothelium as his patients manage to avoid much of these complications.

https://youtu.be/oFsjVH596W0

Melatonin repairs damage to the endothelium until it can no longer keep up with the rate of damage being done possibly due to the age-related decline of melatonin production. Melatonin levels decline vary significantly between the ages of 40 and 50. At that same time, while melatonin is declining in humans between 40 and 50, age-related diseases, of which cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are included, are increasing as shown in this link that shows that men start to get CVD around age 45. Interestingly, by age 50 our melatonin level has declined to that of a newborn, the lowest level seen until age 50, and melatonin levels continue to decline even further after 50, though at a slower rate.

Melatonin level by age :

So it should come as no surprise that by age 55 the rate of CVD has doubled in men and by age 65 heart attacks and strokes become a much more common occurrence!

http://www.secondscount.org/treatments/treatments-detail-2/who-is-affected-by-cardiovascular-disease#.YgxCU1XMJ1s

If what gets the initial endothelial damage started is oxidative stress and the resulting inflammation-causing lesions, melatonin is a potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant and scavenges Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) and Reactive  Nitrogen Species (RNS) and Peroxynitrite very effectively and melatonin has protective effects for endothelial cells and the vascular endothelium. It may be the most effective treatment possible if it stops the process in the very first stages and studies show that it may do just that even once the process is already established!

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC5156974/

Here are the results of this study :

>>> ' After 1 month of melatonin treatment, the mean level of ICAM, VCAM, and CRP showed a statistically significant decrease in the case group. On the other hand, the mean level of VCAM increased significantly in the control group. The mean levels of CRP and ICAM were also increased in the control group, but the difference did not reach the significant threshold. With respect to NO, there was a statistically significant increase in the case group, while there was a statistically significant decrease in serum NO in the control group.

The results of this study suggested that melatonin may have beneficial effects on endothelial oxidative stress even in patient with severe and advanced atherosclerosis. ' <<<

I wrote two articles on this very subject for EC in 2020 and 2021 here:

https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/melatonin-for-cardiovascular-disease.html

https://www.earthclinic.com/melatonin-for-stroke-recovery-and-prevention.html

The point of all of this is that preventing or treating atherosclerosis should alleviate many cardiovascular events in our lives and it seems appropriate that our own bodies produce a substance, melatonin, that can do this very well!

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC8674670/

Here is a relevant quote from the study :

>>> ' MLT alleviated endothelial injury by inhibiting inflammatory response, oxidative stress and cell apoptosis in atherosclerosis. Of note, MLT exerted strongly inhibitory effect on cellular senescence in aging-related vascular endothelial cells in atherosclerosis. In addition, MLT had a positive improvement on telomere length and telomerase activity, which might partly explain the potential mechanism by which MLT attenuated senescence in atherosclerosis. ' <<<

We may need to compensate for the age related decline of melatonin, either through supplementing or natural means for those who can't supplement melatonin, or, both supplement and natural means. I discuss two ways for you to naturally stimulate melatonin production in the following article :

https://www.earthclinic.com/supplements/how-to-increase-melatonin-naturally.html

Melatonin is made in every mitochondrion in the body and mitochondria are in all cells of the body except red blood cells, but even red blood cells produce melatonin! Melatonin is produced in the brain via the pineal gland and it is also produced in the gut at a rate that is said to be at least 400 times that of the pineal gland. The rate of production in the mitochondria eclipses that of the gut. Melatonin receptors are found throughout the body.

These are all huge clues as to how important melatonin is to our health. It is the same for animals who also naturally produce melatonin. It is also the same for plant life who flourish on melatonin. We do not currently know all that melatonin does to protect our health, but what we already know is that when we have higher levels of melatonin when we are younger, we are also healthier. It may be a coincidence, but studies confirm the positive health effects of melatonin. Melatonin's decline in production inversely mirrors the rise of age related diseases and declining health.

https://www.earthclinic.com/melatonin-and-some-interesting-coincidences.html

The importance of all of this is that heart disease is the number one killer in the world for both men and women!

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/282929#heart-disease

Melatonin protects our bodies in so many ways and because of that, it might be a good idea for us to do everything that we practically can in order to help bolster our declining levels of melatonin. Cardiovascular disease is just the tip of the iceberg!

Art


About The Author

Art Solbrig is a researcher who has been reading scientific studies and testing natural remedies for over 30 years searching for useful studies and alternatives that apply positively to human health issues and natural treatments using minerals, vitamins, amino acids, essential oils, herbs, homeopathy, colloidal silver, combination treatments, and other alternatives to improve the quality of life of others by writing about his findings and test results in places like Earth Clinic. He documents and writes about many of his experiences in helping others. Art is a native of sunny California.

Melatonin Dosage

2 User Reviews
5 star (2) 
  100%

Posted by BellaPaolina (Italy) on 09/26/2024
★★★★★

Hi again Art, this is Paola from Italy. Since my husband and I are taking daily 50 grams of melatonin every night as a preventive for blood clots and general hearth health I was wondering how many mg are you taking, how many times daily, and if you follow dr Frank Shallenberger protocol for his patients. Many thanks as usual for your time and expertise!!!

Replied by Art
(California)
09/26/2024
2291 posts

Hi BellaPaolina,

Did you mean to say that you are taking 50 mg, not 50 grams of melatonin? That 50 grams/5000 mg would be a dose that I have not previously seen used in humans.

I do not use Dr. Shallenberger's recommended dosing schedules, but have used his higher oral dose for a friend with cancer.

I was taking 132 mg of oral melatonin in one dose per day, but since I have started melatonin lotion (ML), I have reduced my oral dose significantly. Now I only take the oral dose to target the gut microbiome and use the ML to target everything else. When you take oral melatonin it is pretty much done in 5 hours, but when you use topically applied ML it can be active in your system for around 24 hours because when you apply it to the skin, it accumulates in the layers of the stratum corneum and then slowly disperses into the blood from there, over a 24 hour period. Somewhat like a patch.

I am currently taking 30 mg oral melatonin and will soon be switching to 36 mg for my gut microbiome. I apply ML twice a day which should be keeping my blood level of melatonin fairly high because I am using a stronger lotion than what I have posted on EC, because my tolerance for melatonin is very high.

Another advantage to ML compared to oral melatonin is that it offers pain relief that oral can not offer.

Here are two link to what I wrote about ML, how to make it, potential advantages compared to oral melatonin and its pain relieving effects:

https://www.earthclinic.com/supplements/topical-melatonin-pain-relief-success-stories.html

https://www.earthclinic.com/supplements/topical-melatonin-advantages-pain-management-guide.html

Art

Paola
(Usa)
09/30/2024

Art. as usual your posts and your research are enlightening. Yes, my husband and I are taking 50 Milligrams of melatonin every night. But the possibility of using the melatonin lotion to keep ML circling in the body all day long is very interesting. I am curious to know why you have to use gin to dissolve the powder? Olive oil would be acceptable? Or any other non alcoholic element? I know in homeopathy they use alcohol in their liquid remedies to "open up" the veins and arteries to receive better the remedy. Is this the case here or anything else will do? If so, could you suggest an alternative, non alcohol formula? Thanks as usual

Paola

Art
(California)
09/30/2024
2291 posts

Hi Paola,

The reason for the use of gin is to dissolve the melatonin powder so that it will be active as intended. Melatonin dissolves very well in ethanol, hence the use of gin. Because it is a relatively large amount of melatonin to be dissolved, I needed a solvent that is safe and effective for the purpose, but also capable of dissolving the amount of melatonin being used. I also needed to make this doable at home for my testing. I am not aware of any fats that are capable of dissolving this much melatonin in this small amount of fluid. Here is a link describing suitable solvents for melatonin :

https://cdn.caymanchem.com/cdn/insert/14427.pdf

In order to fully dissolve the amount of melatonin powder I was using in the mix, I needed a good and safe solvent such as ethanol. There are quite a few botanicals used in the making of gin and they also have healthful effects and that is how I decided to use gin. Vodka can also work, but it requires more vodka to dissolve the melatonin powder and this results in a very watery lotion. DMSO is a very good solvent for melatonin, but can easily carry other molecules through the skin, so it is not a good option in this case and the DMF can have some very concerning side effects. I also feel that gin has a more pleasant smell than vodka.

Olive oil contains melatonin in very, very small amounts measured in pg/ml. If you try olive oil, please let us know how it works for you. For me personally, I can not tolerate the smell of olive oil on my skin, so I would never have tested it.

Art

Paola
(Usa)
10/03/2024

Art, you are very right about the( no so pleasant) olive oil smell on the skin. The other solvent I can think of is rosewater( I use it to make vitamin c lotion, it dissolves perfectly the vit c powder) Do you think it could work?

If you don't mind, tell me the melatonin dosage you are using in the lotion you prepare for yourself- we also have a high melatonin tolerance and I would like to put more than one gram in my ML...how much more? Thank you

Art
(California)
10/03/2024
2291 posts

Hi Paola,

If Rosewater is water based I don't think it will work to dissolve melatonin because melatonin is very, very poorly dissolvable in water.

What I tell most people is to make the original mix as described in the original article in a small amount to see if it is effective for you and then if it is, you have a basis for comparison for any different mixes you decide to test on your own. If the original mix does not help you, then you need not waste your time on other variations.

Art

Paola
(Usa)
10/04/2024

I'll do as you say and post the results. How strong is your "stronger" ML lotion-the one you prepare for yourself? Please advise. Thank you


Melatonin Dosage
Posted by Adrienne (ID) on 06/04/2024

Hello Art, Melatonin can be hard to take, for me, anyway. It hangs over into the next day. Is there a particular one that is easier to take? Or should we start with a very low dose and gradually work up?

Replied by Art
(California)
06/04/2024
2291 posts

Hi Adrienne,

You didn't say if you are using melatonin as oral capsule/pill or melatonin lotion. If oral, try cutting your dose in half and taking it in the later afternoon and see if that helps with next day tiredness. If you are using the melatonin lotion, try one application per day in the later afternoon to the problem area.

Let me know how you make out.

Art


Melatonin Dosage
Posted by parkypuss (Burson, CA) on 04/08/2022

I read through this rather quickly & didn't see any mention of what dosage is most effective. Any specifics?

Replied by Art
(California)
04/09/2022
2291 posts

parkypuss,

This first study used 10 mg of melatonin per day and showed benefits :

https://www.clinicalnutritionjournal.com/article/S0261-5614(17)31424-3/fulltext

This next study used 250 mg of melatonin per day and showed benefits :

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7995760/

Both studies showed benefits, but the 250 mg study showed more benefit.

Art

Gary
(Georgia)
04/16/2022

250 mg per day???

Why so much? For how long?

Denise E
(Crescent City, CA)
06/16/2023

I'm having insomnia again Art and want to try Melatonin but I was reading that there is a synthetic, FDA approved, and also a pure that is non-FDA approved. Synthetic anything worries me, but what do you think? Thanks much and I am still weaning off my Clonazepam, doing good, but when I get bad insomnia I have to updose so it slows the process. So the melatonin which was 3 mg was doing fine for me except for something I read scared me off it.

It's hard when every good review has a bad one and I can't find the "bad" one now that I had read. The brain-fog from the long-time use of clonazepam is lifting, so many things are better for me already at between 3-4 months weaning tiny amounts. I've gone down from .171 pill weight, to .127 pill weight which is around 25% of the pill, very slow taper. I need to update the thread/topic that EC was so gracious in adding for me,

denise

Art
(California)
04/16/2022
2291 posts

Gary,

The nature of melatonin studies these days is that they are pushing dosing levels to new highs to try and determine if more is better and in this case, more was better. The toxic dose of melatonin in humans has not been found yet and in this case, they showed that 250 mg/day is not only not toxic, but very helpful for the heart! The 10 mg study was also beneficial, but not as much as the 250 mg study. This study was only for 12 weeks, but there was an ALS study that used 300 mg/day for up to 2 years.

Part of the issue with melatonin is that most people are mainly aware of it as a sleep aid at a very low dosing of 1/3 mg to 5 mg, so automatically 250 mg sounds like a huge amount of melatonin. If a study used 250 mg of vitamin C per day, most people would say that is so low of a dose that it isn't going to do anything.

There are other ways to get melatonin than supplementing with pills and I have previously written about two of those ways on EC here and I will soon be adding a third way:

https://www.earthclinic.com/supplements/how-to-increase-melatonin-naturally.html

The advantage of getting melatonin naturally is that it has no side effects, only health effects.

Art

Fibonacci
(NZ)
05/30/2023

Thank You Art for this extraordinary research re: melatonin. Question I have is that some claim that high dosages of melatonin over long periods of time slow down ones metabolic rate and causes obesity as well as depletes testosterone.

What are you thoughts or research on this.

Cheers

Art
(California)
05/30/2023
2291 posts

Fibonaci,

On the contrary recent studies suggest that melatonin may increase metabolism and improve our ability to lose weight as discussed here :

https://www.centerforinternalmed.com/blog/low-dose-melatonin-weight-loss#:~:text=Research now shows that melatonin, thermogenic capacity of the mitochondria.

A relevant article quote :

' Research now shows that melatonin may increase metabolism and improve our ability to lose weight. Melatonin fights fat in two major ways: it has the ability to assist in turning fat into energy rather than storing it and it improves thermogenic capacity of the mitochondria. '

And here :

https://joe.bioscientifica.com/view/journals/joe/251/1/JOE-20-0462.xml

Here is a relevant quote :

' In the present study, we demonstrated that long-term melatonin treatment (from 10 weeks to 43 weeks of age) attenuated body weight gain during aging in female mice. We also revealed, using micro-CT, that melatonin treatment decreased the deposition of both visceral fat and s.c. fat. Furthermore, metabolome analysis revealed that melatonin treatment downregulated a number of metabolites involved in lipogenesis.'

Similarly, regarding studies related to melatonin and testosterone, they show that melatonin dose not reduce testosterone levels as discussed here :

https://www.nature.com/articles/pr19842381#:~:text=Published: November 1984-, Melatonin does not alter human serum gondotropin and testosterone, but it increases prolactin levels

This is the title of the study :

Melatonin does not alter human serum gondotropin and testosterone levels, but it increases prolactin levels

Art

Denise E
(Crescent City, CA)
05/31/2023

How can I shop for Melatonin, Art, I need to know what to look for as the last bottle I got was very cheap, bought it at a Grocery Outlet. I was taking just 3 mg and that put me to sleep but no hangover type feeling next morning. I can't imagine how someone taking 250mg could even stay upright after taking that much?

One time I took a 10mg tablet and I was so woozy the next morning I didn't want to do anything but lay around. Is there a trick or secret how to take the supplementation? I'm 70 btw, very high cholesterol from my Ketogenic diet, but information I've been studying says that it's only Trigs divided by HDL is the ratio a person needs to watch and mine is 1.5 which is pretty good even though my total Chol. is 511. I've had tests on my heart arteries, and carotoid artery and nothing significant as far as calcium build-up.

I still get concerned but not willing to take a 'statin, thanks for any feedback, Denise

Fibonacci
(NZ)
05/31/2023
★★★★★

Thank You Art.

FYI I've been on 10mg of Melatonin for over 5 years now and since then I have not caught the flu/cold nor covid. And I'm unvaxxed.

I believe this is due to the melatonin.

Art
(California)
05/31/2023
2291 posts

Hi Denise,

Some people adjust to the next day tiredness after 1 week to a month and then it is not a problem anymore, but some people don't adjust and can not tolerate regular use of higher dose melatonin. For those who can't tolerate melatonin in supplement form, I wrote the following :

https://www.earthclinic.com/supplements/how-to-increase-melatonin-naturally.html

Art

Denise E
(Crescent City, CA)
06/05/2023

Thank you Art, just remembered I posted this, thanks so much and I'll look at the link. I'm doing much better not using anything for sleep, although I take have my dose of Magnesium at bedtime and I think it helps me too. I also am keeping up on my exercise (walking, and gym weight resistance). Thank you again, Denise!!

Art
(California)
05/31/2023
2291 posts

Thank you for the feedback on your use of melatonin, Fibonacci!

Art

Fibonacci
(NZ)
06/02/2023

Hi Art,

I would like to ask if you have any experience with the sleep aid DOXYLAMINE or know any facts about it's use or long term use.

My brother has been uses it long term and he sleeps like a baby and has lost 20 kgs. Note he has changed nothing else about his lifestyle other than using doyxlamine to sleep well and long. He swears it is 10x better then melatonin.

Your feedback is appreciated.

Art
(California)
06/02/2023
2291 posts

Fibonacci,

I have no personal experience with the antihistamine Doxylamine, but it has a very good side effect profile as listed here :

https://www.drugs.com/mtm/doxylamine.html#side-effects

Clearly it is working well for your brother and antihistamines like Benadryl(diphenhydramine) are often quite effective for sleep. I have tried diphenhydramine and found it effective for that purpose, but have avoided it because of a potential risk in its use.

The following article suggests there may be an increased risk potential between these antihistamines and dementia :

https://www.healthline.com/health/healthy-sleep/antihistamine-for-sleep#when-to-talk-with-a-pro

Here is a relevant quote from the article :

' People sometimes use antihistamines, such as diphenhydramine and doxylamine succinate, to combat insomnia.

These over-the-counter medications are OK for occasional use in most people. However, they may increase the risk for dementia and Alzheimer's disease if taken long term. '

Art

Fibonacci
(NZ)
06/04/2023

Thanks for that Art,

Another question. Although melatonin (i use Natrol advanced 2x 10mg slow release I.e. 20mg each night) has been great at getting me to sleep. However it seems majority of times if I get up in the night for whatever reason I have difficulty getting back to sleep.

Have you had this problem or have any suggestions?

Cheers

Art
(California)
06/04/2023
2291 posts

Fibonacci,

From what I have seen, it seems to be hit or miss with melatonin alone for sleep. Melatonin does not help everyone with sleep, but for those that it helps, it seems to help very well.

In your case, adding other things might be helpful since melatonin alone seems to help you get to sleep initially, but not so helpful later in the night if you get up. I previously wrote about such a combination here :

https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/art-solbrig-insomnia-protocol.html

The melatonin 123 approach would be the simplest addition and if that is insufficient then the 3 supplement regimen would be the next choice.

Art

Fibonacci
(NZ)
06/10/2023

Hi Art,

Thank you for your suggestions. Since then, I did the following and it has been a miracle change in my sleep.

I now sleep like a baby (well a week so far so not proof yet). I don't get up during the night and if I get up to pee I go back to sleep. Here's what I did on top of the melatonin.

After dinner, I take Ashwaghanda

1 hour before bed, I take

* 10mg melatonin

* 1gram of cinnamon

* 4 grams of glycine

then as I am about to hit the pillow I take another * 10mg of melatonin.

I am sleeping like a baby.

Thank you for all your help.

Art
(California)
06/10/2023
2291 posts

Fibonacci,

Glad to hear it helped you to get good sleep! Please update after you have been on it longer.

Art

peter
(chicago)
06/16/2023

Hi Art, need your help!

I asked you about the my wife's kidney protein is high. since tgen, my wife have been taking 5 mg melatonin with 10mg of B6 in each pill (3pills total a day) for kidney problem for 6 weeks . Should she just taking more melatonin without the B6? Would there be problem with too much B6? I want to increase her dosage of melatonin per your suggestion . I forgot to mentioned to you on last email her 5 mg melatonin has 10 mg of b6. I hope I did not cause her any harm.

Art
(California)
06/16/2023
2291 posts

Peter,

I don't know what tgen is?

Too much B6 can be deleterious to the kidneys and her health!!! As discussed here :

https://www.miamikidney.com/single-post/can-taking-a-lot-of-supplements-really-damage-the-kidneys#:~:text=In diabetes patients with advanced, Vitamins Review for more information).

Here is a relevant quote :

' In diabetes patients with advanced kidney disease, high daily doses of B vitamins (folate, B6 and B12) were found in one study to worsen kidney function and double the risk of heart attack stroke and death (see the Cautions section of the B Vitamins Review for more information). '

Some manufacturers add B6 to melatonin to make it more effective and I don't really like this, but they do. It is good to read the label to know exactly what you are taking, especially in your wife's case.

If there is a reason she is wanting to take extra B6, and her doctor approves it, she should be taking B6 in the form referred to as P5P. The type of B6 found in a few melatonin supplements is not this type. Here is a link to typical P5P products :

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=P5P&crid=897VJDFKK4V2&sprefix=p5p,aps,211&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

Again, since she is a transplant recipient, every supplement she takes should be approved by her doctor and or transplant doctor and or team to make sure it will not cause her harm!

Art

Art
(California)
06/18/2023
2291 posts

Peter,

Here is the RDA for vitamin B6 to give you an idea for comparison to what your wife is taking in total :

https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB6-HealthProfessional/#h2

Art

Art
(California)
06/16/2023
2291 posts

Hi Denise E,

I think most melatonin is synthetically made. If you look on Amazon, I see that they have a natural version, but it is fairly pricey at $50 for 120 three mg capsules.

I have only used the synthetic version, so that is the only one I am familiar with.

If you don't want to use the synthetic version then you do have the option for the natural one, but give some consideration to the very good safety profile that the synthetic version has accrued over decades.

Another option, if you want to avoid the synthetic version, is to increase your melatonin naturally via earlier morning and later afternoon sun exposure as I wrote about here :

https://www.earthclinic.com/supplements/how-to-increase-melatonin-naturally.html

It is also worth noting that most studies of melatonin use the synthetic version. Another point worth considering is that melatonin is non addictive and you can stop cold turkey at anytime without any withdrawal symptoms.

Lastly, you will be hard pressed to find a bad study about melatonin. I hope that answers your questions.

Art


Melatonin Post Heart Surgery

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by sheila (Nebraska) on 10/30/2023
★★★★★

Melatonin post CABG (Coronary artery bypass grafting)

I am on Eliquis 2x day, Coreg 2x day, and low-dose aspirin 1x day. I am interested in taking HDM as a prophylactic against inflammation in my transplanted veins. I am also interested in taking serrapeptase for this same purpose.

Thank you, Art, for all you do.

Replied by Art
(California)
10/31/2023
2291 posts

Sheila,

The Eliquis and the aspirin have blood thinning effects and similarly, melatonin has shown blood thinning effects, so in your situation, melatonin may not be advisable or you could talk to your doctor about possibly discontinuing the aspirin and replacing it with melatonin at night. The melatonin will have more beneficial health effects than the aspirin. Another consideration is that even low dose aspirin can cause gastric ulcers in new users as discussed in this May 2022 article here :

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/apt.17050

If your doctor is resistant to the use of HDM and you are looking for reduced oxidative stress and anti inflammatory effects in your blood vessels, perhaps he will be more open to high dose Grape seed Proanthocyanidin Extract (GSPE) which can also offer those benefits. I use 1200 mg/day as 3 capsules per day, the label recommended dose of the product I use as shown here :

https://www.amazon.com/Carlyle-Grape-Extract-Equivalent-Capsules/dp/B07G7K522Q/ref=sr_1_5?crid=3CF4EH2QW7KR0&keywords=grape+seed+extract+capsules&qid=1698777153&sprefix=grape+seed+extract,aps,128&sr=8-5

GSPE can help maintain blood vessel integrity parameters as discussed at length in the following randomized, double blind, placebo controlled study in humans :

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6950399/

Perhaps the above study will help your doctor to decide in favor of GSPE over aspirin. GSPE has blood thinning effects like aspirin, but is also vascular health promoting.

Art

sheila
(Nebraska)
10/31/2023

Thank you for your reply. I plan to ask my doctor about this at my next appointment. I seem to have more heartburn since I have been on the additional aspirin. If he agrees to DC the aspirin, what dosage is considered high for the melatonin? I can't tell you how I appreciate your wisdom.

Art
(California)
11/01/2023
2291 posts

Sheila,

Talking to your doctor about melatonin, he will likely want to see a study or two suggesting it has useful benefit at higher dosing. The following randomized, double-blind clinical trial used only 10 mg/day in humans and saw minimal improvement :

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8427988/

Here is a relevant quote from the RCT :

Melatonin supplementation in HFrEF might improve endothelial function; however, this beneficial effect might not be seen in diabetic patients.

This meta-analysis of multiple studies(31 studies actually used) using melatonin to lower inflammation, while not giving individual study dosing, determined that melatonin has statistically significant anti-inflammatory effects :

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7979486/

Here is a relevant quote from the meta analysis :

This systematic review and meta-analysis of 31 clinical trials involving 1517 participants in diverse populations of different ages and health conditions demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory effects of melatonin.

Melatonin had a large anti-inflammatory effect on IL-1, IL-6, and IL-8, which remained large and statistically significant even after trimming outlier studies with large effect sizes to eliminate publication bias. Usually, SMD of 0.8 is considered a large effect size (Faraone, 2008; Zlowodzki et al., 2007), and in this meta-analysis, all the SMDs for IL-1, IL-6, and IL-8 were above 1 before and after excluding outlier studies. The SMD for TNF was also above 1 but became non-significant after excluding outlier studies with large effect sizes. Although a direct comparison with other putatively anti-inflammatory agents is difficult, based on existing meta-analyses, melatonin generally had an effect that is comparable to that reported for statins (SMDs ranging from 1.3 to 4.3 for various inflammatory markers) and a larger effect than that reported for curcumin (SMDs ranging from non-significant to 2.1 for various inflammatory markers), fish oil (SMDs ranging from non-significant to 1.2 for various inflammatory markers), probiotics (SMDs ranging from non-significant to 0.5 for various inflammatory markers), and vitamin D (SMDs ranging from non-significant to 0.5 for various inflammatory markers) (Li et al., 2018; Lv et al., 2015; Milajerdi et al., 2020; Mousa et al., 2018; Tabrizi et al., 2019; Xin et al., 2012).

This last randomized, double blind placebo controlled trial (RCT) used 50 mg per day of melatonin in people with Parkinson's disease (PD), a disease noted for highly elevated oxidative stress levels and perturbed mitochondrial function and often seen in cardiovascular disease also and melatonin was shown to return elevated oxidative stress levels to healthy control levels and significantly improve mitochondrial function :

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/omcl/2021/5577541/

Here is a relevant quote from the RCT :

At the end of the trial, in patients who received melatonin, we detected a significant diminution of lipoperoxides, nitric oxide metabolites, and carbonyl groups in plasma samples from PD patients compared with the placebo group. Conversely, catalase activity was increased significantly in comparison with the placebo group. Compared with the placebo group, the melatonin group showed significant increases of mitochondrial complex 1 activity and respiratory control ratio. The fluidity of the membranes was similar in the melatonin group and the placebo group at baseline and after three months of treatment. In conclusion, melatonin administration was effective in reducing the levels of oxidative stress markers and restoring the rate of complex I activity and respiratory control ratio without modifying membrane fluidity. This suggests that melatonin could play a role in the treatment of PD.

If your doctor approves the 50 mg dose, I suggest slowly working up to that dose for a gradual transition up to 50 mg/day to be taken at night. If not, maybe your doctor will approve the GSPE at the label recommended dose that I previously pointed out to you.

Art

Art
(California)
11/01/2023
2291 posts

Sheila,

I forgot to include this melatonin study in CABG participants at 10 mg melatonin per day and its effects on cognitive function :

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10098135/

Here is a relevant quote :

' The MMSE and WAIS-R tests revealed that melatonin might have prophylactic effects against postoperative cognitive disturbance in patients undergoing elective CABG.'

Art



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