Melatonin supplementation can help to compensate for damage to DNA Associated with work in night shifts by increasing the body’s ability to repair it, they suggest the findings of a small clinical trial of the British Columbia Cancer Research Institute (Canada) published in the magazine ‘Occupational & Environmental Medicine‘.
In depth
The researchers conclude that studies are now justified broader to examine different doses and possible long -term effects of melatonin supplementation.
The article details that Normal nocturnal production of the biological clock hormonemelatonin, is suppressed in workers in the night shift, which compromises the body’s ability to repair the oxidative damage of the DNA, which is the byproduct of normal cellular processes, which increases the risk of certain types of cancer in these workers. Therefore, they wanted to discover if melatonin supplementation I could help compensate for this damage by improving DNA repair in 40 workers in the night shift.
More details
Half of the participants were randomly assigned a daily melatonin pill taken with food and an hour before going to sleep during the day for 4 consecutive weeks. And the other half were randomly assigned a 3 mg placebo pad following the same scheme. All participants worked a minimum of two consecutive night shifts per week, of at least seven hours each night, For at least six months. None had sleep disorders or chronic diseases.
They were collected Urine samples during the second of two subsequent periods of daytime sleep and night shift: Once before starting the trial and another near the end of 4 weeks. The participants carried activity monitoring devices to measure the time they slept during the day. 8-OHDG levels were measuredan indicator of the DNA damage repair capacity, throughout the urine emitted during periods of daytime sleep and the posterior night shift.
The urinary levels of 8-OH-DG were 80% higher during daytime sleep (indicating a better repair) among those who took the melatonin supplement that among those who took the placebo tablet. But there was no significant difference in the urinary levels of 8-OH-DG during the posterior night shift.
To take into account
It is a study little And most participants worked in the health sector, so the results may not be applicable to other types of workers in the night shift, researchers recognize. Nor could they take into account exposure to natural light, which affects circulating melatonin levels.
However, they conclude: “The increase in the oxidative damage of DNA due to the decrease in DNA repair capacity is a convincing mechanism that can contribute to carcinogenicity of work in night shifts. Our placed controlled random trial suggested that melatonin supplementation can improve the repair capacity of the oxidative damage of the DNA among the workers of the night shift“They say.
“Our findings justify future studies on a larger scale that examine different doses of melatonin supplements and the long -term impacts of their use. Waiting for the results of these studies, melatonin supplementation can be a viable intervention strategy for Reduce cancer load among workers in the night shift“They conclude.
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