Reiter Russel J, Paredes Sergio D, Manchester Lucien C, Tan Dan-Xian
Department of Cellular and Structural Biology, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX, USA.
Crit Rev Biochem Mol Biol. 2009 Jul-Aug;44(4):175-200. doi: 10.1080/10409230903044914.
The discovery of melatonin and its derivatives as antioxidants has stimulated a very large number of studies which have, virtually uniformly, documented the ability of these molecules to detoxify harmful reactants and reduce molecular damage. These observations have clear clinical implications given that numerous age-related diseases in humans have an important free radical component. Moreover, a major theory to explain the processes of aging invokes radicals and their derivatives as causative agents. These conditions, coupled with the loss of melatonin as organisms age, suggest that some diseases and some aspects of aging may be aggravated by the diminished melatonin levels in advanced age. Another corollary of this is that the administration of melatonin, which has an uncommonly low toxicity profile, could theoretically defer the progression of some diseases and possibly forestall signs of aging. Certainly, research in the next decade will help to define the role of melatonin in age-related diseases and in determining successful aging. While increasing life span will not necessarily be a goal of these investigative efforts, improving health and the quality of life in the aged should be an aim of this research.
褪黑素及其衍生物作为抗氧化剂的发现激发了大量研究，这些研究几乎一致地证明了这些分子具有清除有害反应物和减少分子损伤的能力。鉴于人类许多与年龄相关的疾病都有重要的自由基成分，这些观察结果具有明确的临床意义。此外，一种解释衰老过程的主要理论将自由基及其衍生物视为致病因素。这些情况，再加上随着生物体衰老褪黑素的丧失，表明一些疾病和衰老的某些方面可能会因老年时褪黑素水平的降低而加重。另一个推论是，褪黑素的毒性极低，理论上它的施用可以延缓某些疾病的进展，并可能预防衰老迹象。当然，未来十年的研究将有助于确定褪黑素在与年龄相关疾病中的作用以及在确定成功衰老方面的作用。虽然延长寿命不一定是这些研究工作的目标，但改善老年人的健康和生活质量应该是这项研究的一个目标。
