Wirz-Justice A
Psychiatrische Universitätsklinik, Basel.
Praxis (Bern 1994). 1996 Oct 15;85(42):1332-6.
Melatonin, the hormone of the pineal gland is secreted during the night. It provides temporal information on diurnal and seasonal variation to the brain and the body. It is not a "classical" sleeping pill, and it should not be taken as such. The sole sufficiently investigated indication in humans is the treatment of certain sleep disorders from the group of sleep-wake-rhythm disturbances. These manifest themselves by sleep time of the day, i.e. in shift workers, after flights across time zones and in some blind and aged persons. None of the other promises, i.e. that melatonin conserves youth, prolong life, heals cancer or is a free radicals scavenger, have been confirmed by clinical studies.
褪黑素，即松果体分泌的激素，是在夜间分泌的。它向大脑和身体提供有关昼夜和季节变化的时间信息。它不是一种“传统的”安眠药，也不应被当作安眠药服用。在人类身上唯一经过充分研究的适应症是治疗睡眠-觉醒节律紊乱组中的某些睡眠障碍。这些睡眠障碍表现为一天中的睡眠时间异常，比如轮班工作者、跨时区飞行后以及一些盲人和老年人身上出现的情况。其他所谓的功效，比如褪黑素能保持年轻、延长寿命、治愈癌症或清除自由基等，均未得到临床研究的证实。
