Scientists tested the sleep hormone in patients with chronic headaches and found that it could improve the situation greatly.

Headaches do not seem to threaten our lives — but the quality of life may be in danger. However, the origin of headaches and migraine is often unexplained, especially when no obvious biological causes can be found. Scientists from Sechenov University and several other research organisations analysed the effect of melanin intake in patients who had been experiencing headaches and problems with sleep and ruled out that the substance helped improve the situation. This study has been published in the journal Pain and Therapy.

Tension-type headache, or TTH, is considered the major type of primary headache, with prevalence in the general population varying between 42% and 78%. Approximately 2–3% of patients suffer from chronic TTH. The existing approved medications have low evidence-based efficacy and are associated with significant tolerability issues. TTH may also be involved in psychiatric conditions, anxiety disorders, and circadian rhythms.

Melatonin is a hormone which regulates the sleep-wake cycle, and often people take it to recover from jet lag or shift work. Melatonin is also likely to play a role in pain perception and modulation. The substance had already been studied in the prevention of migraine, and the research team from Sechenov focused on the potential benefits of the hormone in patients with TTH.

This study was designed as a post-marketing surveillance programme to assess the efficacy of commercially available melatonin, Melaxen®. The trial took place between October 2019 and March 2020 at three sites across Russia. The subjects, aged 18–65 and diagnosed with chronic TTH, reported normal quality and duration of night sleep within one month prior to enrolment into the study but complained that they could not fall asleep at the desired time.

The patients were instructed to take 3 mg of melatonin half an hour before going to bed. The duration of this treatment was 30 days, with a follow-up period of another 30 days. After the treatment, the headache occurrence decreased from a median of 20 days per month to 14 days per month — and further down to 12 days per month after the follow-up period. The effect was observed in more than 90% of the subjects. Most patients reported a lower headache intensity and depression level but a higher quality of sleep. The authors of the paper conclude that melatonin may be recommended to people with headaches to improve their condition.

This research has been conducted by scientists from the Department of Neurology at the Institute for Professional Education (Sechenov University), Volgograd State Medical University (Volgograd), Rostov-On-Don Regional Headache Centre (Rostov-on-Don), and Kirov Military Medical Academy (St Petersburg).

Read more: Danilov AB, et al. Safety and Efficacy of Melatonin in Chronic Tension-Type Headache: A Post-Marketing Real-World Surveillance Program. Pain Ther (2020).

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