Do plasma melatonin concentrations decline with age?
PURPOSE: Numerous reports that secretion of the putative sleep-promoting hormone
melatonin declines with age have led to suggestions that melatonin replacement therapy be
used to treat sleep problems in older patients. We sought to reassess whether the
endogenous circadian rhythm of plasma melatonin concentration changes with age in
healthy drug-free adults. METHODS: We analyzed the amplitude of plasma melatonin
profiles during a constant routine in 34 healthy drug-free older subjects (20 women and 14 …
melatonin declines with age have led to suggestions that melatonin replacement therapy be
used to treat sleep problems in older patients. We sought to reassess whether the
endogenous circadian rhythm of plasma melatonin concentration changes with age in
healthy drug-free adults. METHODS: We analyzed the amplitude of plasma melatonin
profiles during a constant routine in 34 healthy drug-free older subjects (20 women and 14 …