Schizophrenia is a disorder that affects many facets of a person’s life, including their ability to think, behave, and interact with peers and the world around them. Due to the complexity of the disorder, the exact cause remains unknown, but it is thought to have genetic, environmental, and mental properties. Due to the degree that schizophrenia can impact people who suffer from it, there has been a significant amount of research done to determine specific factors, as well as prominent biomarkers that could aid in determining the progression of the disease. One such biomarker that is currently being researched is melatonin.
Melatonin is a hormone present in the brain, which is known to aid in sleep cycles and is produced when exposed to darkness. However, while this is the known function of melatonin, it may have other effects in the brain. The connection between melatonin and schizophrenia was first postulated when the similarities in structure between melatonin and a hallucinogenic alkaloid, called harmine. As a biomarker, melatonin levels are observed at a lower rate in patients who have schizophrenia versus those who do not. Additionally, the melatonin levels present in different subtypes of schizophrenia can be quantified, with paranoid subtypes also having lower levels of melatonin, but the generalization is often too broad, which makes this a less useful option. It is important to note that the decreased levels of melatonin are different than the decrease in melatonin that may be present due to insomnia. While many people with schizophrenia also suffer from insomnia, they are instead looking at the expected rise and fall of melatonin at night, indicating that there is an overall shortage, rather than a shortage only due to insomnia.
Biomarkers are important for determining the possible causes of diseases and disorders but can also sometimes help with determining effective treatment plans. Because of this, melatonin has also been researched as a possible treatment option for schizophrenia symptoms. In the study, patients treated with melatonin did experience less nighttime disruptions. Additionally, the same study was conducted with a placebo, and the melatonin treatment increased REM sleep in the patients in which melatonin was used.
While melatonin can be seen as a possible biomarker and treatment option for people with schizophrenia, there is not enough research to say for certain whether melatonin is actually helping people with schizophrenia in particular, or just helpful for people with sleep disruptions.
Source:
Morera-Fumero AL, Abreu-Gonzalez P. Role of melatonin in schizophrenia. Int J Mol Sci. 2013 Apr 25;14(5):9037-50. doi: 10.3390/ijms14059037. PMID: 23698762; PMCID: PMC3676771.
This idea that schizophrenia can be fixed by the biomarker is very interesting because their has never been one definite fix on certain disease because their is a lot of research that needs to be done, but this made me wonder if most of the treatments in healthcare to an extent have to do with the placebo effect. For example, vaccines being a placebo effect to making us feel better about certain diseases like COVID-19, however this made me also question if all biomarkers work as placebo effects or if they have an effect on the disease needed to be treated. I found an article that discussed that their have been placebo effects done on biomarkers like in suggested pain and depression, which has bee very beneficial in clinical trials, but society has not been to a point yet where these biomarkers can have such a huge effect on disease s that cause a lot of pain.
ReplyDeleteEmily J. Hird a, a, b, c, & AbstractPsychosis is characterized by unusual percepts and beliefs in the form of hallucinations and delusions. Antipsychotic medication. (2023, March 5). The placebo effect in psychosis: Why it matters and how to measure it. Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667174323000162