Melatonin in Psychiatric and Neoplastic Disorders

Melatonin. What can’t it do? It is a natural sleep aid that restores the body’s ability to get restful sleep amid the racing times of today’s topsy-turvy world, right? By so doing, doesn’t it improve our productivity, enhance our family lives, and in general make this a better world to live in? Doc, how much should I take? Well, hold on a minute. In a timely book, Mohammad and Sharon Shafii have invited some of the leading experts in melatonin research to review their areas of expertise on this fascinating nocturnally produced hormone. Psychiatric readers will most benefit from the excellent chapters on the role of circadian rhythms and melatonin production in patients with mood disorders. This is the area—not, as is widely held by the public, in the treatment of primary insomnia—that currently has the strongest theoretical support for a role of melatonin in the pathophysiology and treatment of psychiatric disorders.

Although each chapter is superb in its own right, the mixture of topics is a little peculiar, and the connections between the chapters are somewhat loose, ranging from basic science to the use of melatonin in circadian mood disorders, panic and eating disorders, children, and then, in a disjointed style, in oncology. The book returns full circle by elaborating on the hypothesis that meditation may be beneficial to cancer patients by increasing the levels of melatonin, which is associated with oncostatic properties. This is an interesting twist to ponder, but it requires additional support before being accepted as common practice. All in all, however, psychiatric practitioners trying to update themselves on the scientific support for the use of melatonin in psychiatric disorders and for its appropriate use by the public will find this book an informative addition to their library.