Hoang Ba X, Shaw David G, Pham Phuong T, Levine Stephen A
Allergy Research Group, USC, Advanced Integrative Medicine, San Jose, CA 95117, USA.
Eur J Cancer Prev. 2007 Dec;16(6):511-6. doi: 10.1097/CEJ.0b013e32801023dc.
Melatonin is a neurohormone naturally found in humans. Melatonin plays a role in maintaining sleep-wake rhythms; supplementation may help to regulate sleep disturbance that occur with jet lag, rotating shift-work and depression. Preliminary study of melatonin has shown potential for use in the treatment of epilepsy, tinnitus, migraine and neurodegenerative diseases. The latest publication in the Journal of Pineal Research by Edward Mills and colleagues has shown a compelling role of melatonin for the treatment of cancer. Melatonin's consistent relationship with cancer has been shown in many studies assessing links between shift work and cancer rates. High levels of melatonin have been linked to slower cancer progression. How melatonin affects cancer remains largely unclear. Although previous studies suggest different possible mechanisms, many of them are far distant from the primary physiological role of melatonin as a neurohormone. Conflicting studies are found on the role of melatonin in neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. In this article, we try to build and substantiate a neurobiological concept for the anticancer effects of melatonin.
褪黑素是一种在人体内天然存在的神经激素。褪黑素在维持睡眠 - 觉醒节律方面发挥作用；补充褪黑素可能有助于调节因时差反应、轮班工作和抑郁症而出现的睡眠障碍。对褪黑素的初步研究表明其在治疗癫痫、耳鸣、偏头痛和神经退行性疾病方面具有潜在用途。爱德华·米尔斯及其同事在《松果体研究杂志》上发表的最新文章表明，褪黑素在治疗癌症方面具有重要作用。在许多评估轮班工作与癌症发病率之间联系的研究中，都显示出褪黑素与癌症之间存在稳定的关系。高水平的褪黑素与癌症进展缓慢有关。褪黑素如何影响癌症在很大程度上仍不清楚。尽管先前的研究提出了不同的可能机制，但其中许多机制与褪黑素作为神经激素的主要生理作用相差甚远。关于褪黑素在神经退行性疾病和癌症中的作用，存在相互矛盾的研究。在本文中，我们试图构建并证实一个关于褪黑素抗癌作用的神经生物学概念。
