title: Possible therapeutic value of melatonin in mild cognitive impairment: a retrospective study.
abstract: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is an etiologically heterogeneous syndrome characterized by cognitive impairment preceding dementia. Approximately 12% of MCI patients convert to Alzheimer's disease (AD) or other dementia disorders every year. In the present report we retrospectively examined the initial and final neuropsychological assessment of 50 MCI outpatients, 25 of whom had received daily 3-9 mg of a fast-release melatonin preparation p.o. at bedtime for 9-18 months. Melatonin was given in addition to the standard medication prescribed by the attending psychiatrist. Patients treated with melatonin showed significantly better performance in Mini Mental State Examination and the cognitive subscale of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale. After application of a battery of neuropsychological tests including Mattis' test, Digit-symbol test, Trail A and B tasks and the Rey's verbal test, better performance was found in melatonin-treated patients, except for the Digit-symbol test score which remained unchanged. Abnormally high Beck Depression Inventory scores decreased in melatonin-treated patients, concomitantly with an improvement in wakefulness and sleep quality. The results suggest that melatonin can be a useful add-on drug for treating MCI in a clinical setting.
authors.affiliation: Departmento de Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, and Instituto de Neurosciencias Aplicadas, Hospital de Clinicas José de San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Analía M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Furio
authors.forename: Luis I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Brusco
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Cardinali
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008550:Melatonin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010045:Outpatients / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D008550:Melatonin