ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To assess the hypnotic effect of melatonin in patients with primary insomnia. METHOD: Ten patients (mean age 50 yr, range 30-72 yr) who met the DSM-IV criteria for primary insomnia received, in random order, 0.3 mg of melatonin, 1.0 mg of melatonin or placebo 60 minutes before bedtime. A crossover design was used so that each patient received each of the 3 treatments for a 7-day period (with a 5-day washout period between). After each 7-day treatment, night time electroencephalographic (EEG) records were collected, and each morning, subjects completed sleep logs and analogue-visual scales to document the amount and subjective quality of sleep. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in sleep EEG, the amount or subjective quality of sleep or side effects between the placebo, 0.3-mg melatonin or 1.0-mg melatonin treatments. CONCLUSION: Melatonin did not produce any sleep benefit in this sample of patients with primary insomnia.
Subject(s)
Antioxidants/therapeutic use , Melatonin/therapeutic use , Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders/drug therapy , Adult , Aged , Cross-Over Studies , Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , Double-Blind Method , Electroencephalography , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Polysomnography , Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders/diagnosisABSTRACT
El uso de antidepresivos y los ansiolíticos en la patología psiquiátrica durante la infancia y la adolescencia, es cada día más común, no sólo por la promoción farmacéutica, sino por la evidencia de un beneficio significativo en diversas entidades nosológicas. Es por esto que hemos decidido reunir en el presente artículo, una revisión bibliográfica que abarque los avances más recientes de la psicofarmacoterapia en niños y adolescentes; hablar sobre algunas de nuestras experiencias en el área; y finalmente, bajo un abordaje clínico y detallando por momentos aspectos de la paidopsicopatología, ofrecer las líneas de intervención farmacológica
