From the Research
Efficacy of Melatonin Treatment for Seizure Disorders
The efficacy of melatonin treatment for seizure (epileptic) disorders has been investigated in several studies.
- A review of published data found that melatonin may have no marked overall effect on seizures, neither improvement nor worsening 1.
- A pilot study found that melatonin decreased diurnal seizures significantly compared with placebo in patients with intractable epilepsy 2.
- Experimental data suggests that melatonin has anticonvulsant properties, inhibiting audiogenic and electrical seizures, as well as reducing convulsions induced by various substances 3.
- A cross-sectional, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial found that add-on melatonin decreased the severity of epilepsy and improved sleep quality in patients with idiopathic generalized tonic-clonic seizures alone 4.
- A systematic review of randomized controlled trials found that the included studies were of poor methodological quality and did not systematically evaluate seizure frequency and adverse events, making it impossible to draw any conclusion about the role of melatonin in reducing seizure frequency or improving quality of life in people with epilepsy 5.
Key Findings
- Melatonin may be effective in decreasing daytime seizure frequency in patients with intractable epilepsy 2.
- Melatonin has anticonvulsant properties in experimental models of seizures 3.
- Add-on melatonin may be useful in reducing the severity of epilepsy and improving sleep quality in patients with idiopathic generalized tonic-clonic seizures alone 4.
- More high-quality studies are needed to establish the efficacy and safety of melatonin as an adjunctive treatment for epilepsy 1, 3, 5.
Study Limitations
- Many of the studies had small sample sizes and were of poor methodological quality 1, 5.
- The results of the studies were often conflicting, making it difficult to draw firm conclusions about the efficacy of melatonin for seizure disorders 1, 5.
- More large, well-designed, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials are needed to establish the role of melatonin in the treatment of epilepsy 1, 3, 5.