Melatonin, a dietary supplement often used by insomnia sufferers, could be used to possibly help prevent or treat COVID-19, according to researchers at the Cleveland Clinic.
The hormone – which regulates the sleep-wake cycle – has been associated with an almost 30% reduced chance of contracting the disease, scientists said in research published in the journal PLOS Biology, KIRO 7 reported.
Additional studies are needed on the over-the-counter supplement, the researchers said.
“It is very important to note that these findings do not suggest that people should start taking melatonin without consulting their doctor,” said researcher Feixiong Cheng, of the Cleveland Clinic Institute of Genomic Medicine, in a statement, WebMD reported.
“Large-scale observational studies and randomized controlled trials are essential to validate the clinical benefit of melatonin for patients with COVID-19,” he added. “But we are excited about the associations presented in this study and the opportunity to explore them even more.”
Cheng and his team used artificial intelligence to scour a COVID-19 record of nearly 27,000 people at the hospital. They found that people who take melatonin are almost 28 percent less likely to test positive.
The difference is even more significant among blacks.
“It is important to note that the use of melatonin is associated with a 52% reduced likelihood of a positive SARS-CoV-2 laboratory test result in African Americans,” said the study.
“When we got this result, we were very excited,” Cheng told KIRO 7. “If our findings can help patients, this is our goal and mission – and at the Cleveland Clinic, too.”
The study was published last month, but an article in The Atlantic on the connection between coronavirus and sleep sparked new interest in the research, the vehicle said.
“I read the article on melatonin and sleep and thought, ‘I already take melatonin every day!’”, Ruth Harvey, a Seattle resident, told KIRO 7. “I said, ‘This is great, maybe I’m doing right thing to stay healthy. ‘ It is very encouraging. “
President Trump also received melatonin – in addition to zinc, vitamin D, famotidine and aspirin – while he was hospitalized with COVID-19 in October.
He was treated with experimental polyclonal antibodies, the antiviral remdesivir and the steroid dexamethasone.
When asked whether people taking melatonin are less susceptible to the virus because they are sleeping better or because of the supplement itself, Cheng said the researchers still do not know the “exact mechanism”.
“But more and more data are being published that support our hypothesis,” he told KIRO 7, adding that studies increasingly show that melatonin can also help regulate the immune system.
Other studies have also shown that melatonin reduces chronic and acute inflammation, the station reported.
“Melatonin can also help us to improve our human body – what we call tolerance. To help us reduce tissue or organ damage induced by COVID infection, ”said Cheng.
Meanwhile, a study of thousands of patients intubated with COVID-19 conducted at Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center found that when they were exposed to melatonin after being intubated, they had better results, KIRO 7 reported.
The researchers recommended further studies based on these findings.
And at the University of Toronto, the researchers found that melatonin can be added to increase the effectiveness of vaccines against coronavirus, according to News-Medical.net.
Eight clinical trials are underway around the world to see if melatonin results confirm, according to The Atlantic, which noted that if the widely available sleep hormone proves to help people, it would be the cheapest and most affordable drug to fight the deadly insect.