Depressed melatonin secretion in patients with nightmares due to beta-adrenoceptor blocking drugs.

Nocturnal urinary melatonin excretion was evaluated in six patients with nightmares and hallucinations during treatment with beta-adrenoceptor blocking agents, and compared to six control patients with similar diagnoses and treatment but without such symptoms from the central nervous system (CNS). Nightly melatonin excretion was lower in all cases with nightly CNS-symptoms than in the control patients. The results also suggest drug differences and dose dependency. It is concluded that in predisposed patients CNS side-effects induced by beta-adrenoceptor antagonists are related to depressed nightly melatonin secretion.