Melatonin prevents progression/improves macular degeneration instead of causing it, as Ray surmises

burtlancast

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A 2005 Chinese study who followed 55 patients over a 2 years period showed melatonin dramatically arrests/often improves macular degeneration for over 75% of the subjects, and can often reverse the wet forms to the dry one.

1.jpg

FIGURE 1. (A) A 67-year-old male retired teacher. Visual acuity had been decreasing for 2 years. (B) The same patient with a stable visual acuity at 0.3 with remarkable improvement in subretinal macular hemorrhage.

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FIGURE 2. Female, 71 years old with OD wet AMD, visual acuity improved from 0.2

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FIGURE 3. Male, 58 years old, visual acuity increased from 0.2 (A) to 0.6 (B) one year after. The subretinal hemorrhage and exudate was remarkably absorbed.

4.jpg

FIGURE 4. Man, 65 years old, with 0.1 visual acuity with no change after 3 months of treatment, but fundus improved. Macular edema reduced.

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FIGURE 5. Visual acuity improved from 0.2 (A) to 0.3 (B) after 6 month, wet AMD had been largely changed to dry AMD. Subretinal hemorrage absorbed, some subretinal fibrosis developed, the lesion become much stable.



This directly contradicts Ray's statements about melatonin being implicated in this disease:

The popular supplements melatonin, tryptophan, fish oils, St. John's wort, and the various omega -3 oils, all increase the risk of retinal light damage and macular degeneration. Serotonin uptake inhibiting antidepressants are suspected to be able to cause it.

For reminders, many eyes tissues, including the photo-receptors themselves, synthesize their own melatonin.

Melatonin is found in many plant species where it functions as a powerful antioxidant.

In humans, melatonin has been found to be twice as effective antioxidant as Vit E.
 
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frannybananny

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A 2005 Chinese study who followed 55 patients over a 2 years period showed melatonin dramatically arrests/often improves macular degeneration for over 75% of the subjects, and can often reverse the wet forms to the dry one.

View attachment 23981
FIGURE 1. (A) A 67-year-old male retired teacher. Visual acuity had been decreasing for 2 years. (B) The same patient with a stable visual acuity at 0.3 with remarkable improvement in subretinal macular hemorrhage.

View attachment 23982
FIGURE 2. Female, 71 years old with OD wet AMD, visual acuity improved from 0.2

View attachment 23983
FIGURE 3. Male, 58 years old, visual acuity increased from 0.2 (A) to 0.6 (B) one year after. The subretinal hemorrhage and exudate was remarkably absorbed.

View attachment 23984
FIGURE 4. Man, 65 years old, with 0.1 visual acuity with no change after 3 months of treatment, but fundus improved. Macular edema reduced.

View attachment 23985
FIGURE 5. Visual acuity improved from 0.2 (A) to 0.3 (B) after 6 month, wet AMD had been largely changed to dry AMD. Subretinal hemorrage absorbed, some subretinal fibrosis developed, the lesion become much stable.



This directly contradicts Ray's statements about melatonin being implicated in this disease:



For reminders, many eyes tissues, including the photo-receptors themselves, synthesize their own melatonin.

Melatonin is found in many plant species where it functions as a powerful antioxidant.

In humans, melatonin has been found to be twice as effective antioxidant as Vit E.
Well this is very very interesting!! Thank you!
 

Blossom

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Thanks @burtlancast! I’ve been trying to get morning sunlight to reset my circadian rhythm from working nights. Apparently from what I’ve read that’s when we make melatonin and then it’s released at night. I have and increased risk for macular degeneration according to 23&me so I’m hoping to avoid that if possible!
 

Mufasa

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A 2005 Chinese study who followed 55 patients over a 2 years period showed melatonin dramatically arrests/often improves macular degeneration for over 75% of the subjects, and can often reverse the wet forms to the dry one.

View attachment 23981
FIGURE 1. (A) A 67-year-old male retired teacher. Visual acuity had been decreasing for 2 years. (B) The same patient with a stable visual acuity at 0.3 with remarkable improvement in subretinal macular hemorrhage.

View attachment 23982
FIGURE 2. Female, 71 years old with OD wet AMD, visual acuity improved from 0.2

View attachment 23983
FIGURE 3. Male, 58 years old, visual acuity increased from 0.2 (A) to 0.6 (B) one year after. The subretinal hemorrhage and exudate was remarkably absorbed.

View attachment 23984
FIGURE 4. Man, 65 years old, with 0.1 visual acuity with no change after 3 months of treatment, but fundus improved. Macular edema reduced.

View attachment 23985
FIGURE 5. Visual acuity improved from 0.2 (A) to 0.3 (B) after 6 month, wet AMD had been largely changed to dry AMD. Subretinal hemorrage absorbed, some subretinal fibrosis developed, the lesion become much stable.



This directly contradicts Ray's statements about melatonin being implicated in this disease:



For reminders, many eyes tissues, including the photo-receptors themselves, synthesize their own melatonin.

Melatonin is found in many plant species where it functions as a powerful antioxidant.

In humans, melatonin has been found to be twice as effective antioxidant as Vit E.

Is it also twice as effective in being anti oxidative metabolism?
 
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burtlancast

burtlancast

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Is it also twice as effective in being anti oxidative metabolism?
Can't answer that, but it seems it's the main antioxidant inside mitochondries !

Melatonin receptors are found in a lot of cells, including the Islets of Langherhans secreting insulin, which explains why long term supplementation with melatonin improves glucose control in diabetics (i'll make a post about that later on)
 

Mufasa

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Can't answer that, but it seems it's the main antioxidant inside mitochondries !

Melatonin receptors are found in a lot of cells, including the Islets of Langherhans secreting insulin, which explains why long term supplementation with melatonin improves glucose control in diabetics (i'll make a post about that later on)

This is one of the studies that Ray Peat cites in relationship to the problems of anti oxidants causing reductive stress (pseudo hypoxia):

 

TibRex

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Can't answer that, but it seems it's the main antioxidant inside mitochondries !

Melatonin receptors are found in a lot of cells, including the Islets of Langherhans secreting insulin, which explains why long term supplementation with melatonin improves glucose control in diabetics (i'll make a post about that later on)
Thanks for the info. What is the supplemental dosage and how long a period is long-term supplementation?
 

Grapelander

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Gadsie

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Travis has said that melatonin might chelate iron and aluminum here
69AAB304-F4BE-45E4-9233-0F95EA267A09.png
Perhaps it’s a lesser of two evils?
 

Mito

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A 2005 Chinese study who followed 55 patients over a 2 years period showed melatonin dramatically arrests/often improves macular degeneration for over 75% of the subjects, and can often reverse the wet forms to the dry one.


Melatonin is found in many plant species where it functions as a powerful antioxidant.

In humans, melatonin has been found to be twice as effective antioxidant as Vit E.
In the study they gave 3 mg of melatonin for at least 3 months. The study was done 15 years ago. Was there any follow up studies done on what happens if you take 3 mg of melatonin for years instead of months?
 

cjm

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Has Ray's entire case against melatonin been written out on the forum yet? I see the contradictory quotes, one of the studies he cited, but not a full breakdown. I haven't dug in yet. There's a lot of evidence of benefit from exogeneous melatonin. I'm trawling through Pierpaoli's published research and he's able to demonstrate an anti-glucorticoid effect:

1623076789232.png



Back to baseline more or less.

It's complicated, though...

1623077033257.png


"As shown in TABLE 7 (group B), naltrexone completely abrogated the immunostimulatory effect of melatonin, but had no significant effect when injected alone (TABLE 2, group C)."

Melatonin increases immunity via an "opiatergic" mechanism.
 
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burtlancast

burtlancast

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In the study they gave 3 mg of melatonin for at least 3 months. The study was done 15 years ago. Was there any follow up studies done on what happens if you take 3 mg of melatonin for years instead of months?
They gave the melatonin to 100 patients for 7 years actually; but could only manage to follow closely 55 of them over 2 years.

"One hundred patients with AMD were diagnosed and given 3 mg melatonin per night for several months from October 1998 to May 2005 in the outpatient department of the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center. In this group, only 55 patients were followed from 6 to 24 months."
 

cjm

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A 2005 Chinese study who followed 55 patients over a 2 years period showed melatonin dramatically arrests/often improves macular degeneration for over 75% of the subjects, and can often reverse the wet forms to the dry one.

Didn't realize I was quoting the same researcher. The AMD study is the most recent on melatonin he's done (website).

I forgot Ray threw the book at melatonin in Aging Eyes. I have my work cut out for me.
 

cjm

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Melatonin receptors are found in a lot of cells, including the Islets of Langherhans secreting insulin, which explains why long term supplementation with melatonin improves glucose control in diabetics (i'll make a post about that later on)

"At this moment, extrapineal melatonin synthesis has been demonstrated only in eye structures [10, 23, 24], the Harderian gland [25], gut [26], skin [27], inner ear [28], ovary [29, 30], testes [31] and the immune system [32 – 35]."


"The gastrointestinal tract of vertebrate species is a rich source of extrapineal melatonin. The concentration of melatonin in the gastrointestinal tissues surpasses blood levels by 10–100 times and there is at least 400 more melatonin in the gastrointestinal tract than in the pineal gland."

 

cjm

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Has anyone sent it to him to see what he has to say?

I just sent an email to Jeff Bowles, who did an extensive review of melatonin studies and mentions Peat in his bio, basically asking how he reconciled Peat's evidence of melatonin's harm with his own finding, substantiated by his own literature review, that melatonin in high enough doses will effectively cure Alzheimer's via a reduction of luteinizing hormone.
 

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