Can Melatonin Offer New Hope for Allergic Skin Diseases and Beyond?

🔍 Key Finding

Melatonin, a hormone regulating sleep, shows promise in treating dermatological conditions like atopic dermatitis and melasma, due to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory effects, particularly in improving sleep quality and reducing disease severity. Further research is needed to expand its clinical applications in dermatology.

🔬 Methodology Overview

Design: Narrative review.
Data Sources: PubMed and PMC.
Selection Criteria: Studies and reports on melatonin’s role in dermatologic allergic diseases and other skin conditions.
Analysis Approach: Qualitative synthesis of findings from existing literature.
Scope: Overview of melatonin’s effects on the human body, its therapeutic applications, and its potential use in various skin disorders, including allergic conditions (atopic dermatitis, urticaria) and non-allergic conditions (melasma, androgenic alopecia, rosacea, psoriasis, vitiligo, skin aging, skin cancer). Also includes discussion of melatonin’s role in other allergic diseases potentially related to skin conditions (asthma, allergic rhinitis, autoimmune thyroid diseases).

📊 Results

• Patients with severe atopic dermatitis (AD) had significantly lower melatonin concentrations than those with less severe AD (p < 0.001).
• Children with moderate AD had impaired sleep quality and lower melatonin levels compared to controls without AD.
• In children and adolescents with AD, melatonin supplementation decreased SCORAD index by 9.1 points and shortened sleep-onset latency by 21.4 minutes compared to placebo.
• A combined oral and topical melatonin treatment significantly improved melasma symptoms in a study of 36 patients.
• Patients with psoriasis showed significantly lower serum melatonin levels and a loss of the normal nocturnal increase and circadian rhythm of melatonin secretion.
• Patients with vitiligo, particularly the non-segmental form, also exhibited reduced melatonin levels, especially those with a history of stress.
• A pilot study found a correlation between low salivary melatonin values and reduced quality of life in patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria.

💡 Clinical Impact

Melatonin shows promise in treating allergic skin diseases like atopic dermatitis and chronic spontaneous urticaria, primarily by improving sleep quality, and potentially through anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects, warranting further research into its wider therapeutic applications in dermatology. This could lead to melatonin being incorporated into treatment plans for these conditions, particularly for managing sleep disturbances and potentially as an adjunct to existing therapies.

🤔 Limitations

• Limited clinical data on melatonin’s use in dermatology.
• Limited research on long-term effects of melatonin supplementation.
• Potential drug interactions with medications metabolized by cytochrome P450.
• Possible side effects including headache, nausea, dizziness, and drowsiness.
• Limited data on melatonin’s effects in specific skin conditions beyond atopic dermatitis and melasma.
• Potential for melatonin to exacerbate asthma.
• Scarcity of studies with large sample sizes for many dermatological conditions.

✨ What It Means For You

Doctors should consider melatonin as a potential therapeutic option for patients with atopic dermatitis and chronic spontaneous urticaria, particularly for managing sleep disturbances associated with these conditions. Further research is needed to solidify melatonin’s role in treating other skin conditions like melasma, rosacea, and androgenic alopecia, as well as to explore its potential use in topical applications and as an adjunct therapy in melanoma. While generally safe, doctors should be mindful of potential side effects and drug interactions when prescribing melatonin.

Reference

Bešlić I; Lugović-Mihić L; Vrtarić A; Bešlić A; Škrinjar I; Hanžek M; Crnković D; Artuković M. Melatonin in Dermatologic Allergic Diseases and Other Skin Conditions: Current Trends and Reports. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023;24:4039. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24044039