The aim of this research consists of studying whether melatonin (MLT) may be considered as an alternative for the treatment of insomnia.
Methods: A 33-year period (1966-1998) of computerised search using Medline database was performed. Melatonin, pineal gland and insomnia were used as key words.
Results: 93 articles were elicited; 85 were excluded because they were reviews (44) or were not directly related to the research topic (41). 111 insomniac patients were treated with MLT in 8 articles. 60% of the patients reported an improvement of sleep quality. Objective sleep measures also improved; there was a decrease in the sleep latency time and the number of awakenings (62% and 50% of patients respectively) after MLT treatment.
Conclusions: Melatonin may have a promising future for the treatment of insomnia. The lack of standardised criteria for diagnosing sleep disorders and the lack of structured psychiatric interviews for ruling out psychiatric pathology are clear obstacles in generalizing these results.