SynthesisAmerican journal of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias2015
Melatonin for sleep disorders and cognition in dementia: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in American journal of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03066518 (A Randomized Placebo-controlled Trial Evaluating the Effect of Melatonin on Sleep Quality in Patients With Dementia), which is not on this map. Cited by 47 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Randomized Placebo-controlled Trial Evaluating the Effect of Melatonin on Sleep Quality in Patients With Dementia
Who cites it
47 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 112 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of melatonin on cognitive function in adults with cognitive impairment: a multi-dimensional meta-analysis of randomized trials.Alzheimer's research & therapy · 2025Pooled it
- International Expert Opinions and Recommendations on the Use of Melatonin in the Treatment of Insomnia and Circadian Sleep Disturbances in Adult Neuropsychiatric Disorders.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- Pharmacotherapies for sleep disturbances in dementia.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- A systematic review of non-pharmacological interventions to improve nighttime sleep among residents of long-term care settings.BMC geriatrics · 2018Pooled it
- Melatonin and health: an umbrella review of health outcomes and biological mechanisms of action.BMC medicine · 2018Pooled it
- Pharmacotherapies for sleep disturbances in dementia.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2016Pooled it
- Age-Related Changes as the Primary Driver of Pineal Gland Involution-A Morphological Study in Health and Disease.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Exogenous Melatonin and Sleep Quality: A Scoping Review of Systematic Reviews.Journal of clinical pharmacology · 2026Review
- To determine melatonin, cytokines, and sleep index in type 2 diabetes mellitus individuals.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2025Article
- Mindfulness Meditation for Sleep Disturbances Among Individuals with Cognitive Impairment: A Scoping Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Melatonin Overexpression in the Management of Alzheimer's Disease: Therapeutic Exploration.Current topics in medicinal chemistry · 2025Review
- Circadian Rhythm Dysfunction in Neurodegenerative Diseases: A Bidirectional Perspective and Therapeutic Potential.Nature and science of sleep · 2025Review
- Chronic Caffeine Consumption, Alone or Combined with Agomelatine or Quetiapine, Reduces the Maximum EEG Peak, As Linked to Cortical Neurodegeneration, Ovarian Estrogen Receptor Alpha, and Melatonin Receptor 2.Psychopharmacology · 2024Article
- Melatonin attenuates chronic sleep deprivation-induced cognitive deficits and HDAC3-Bmal1/clock interruption.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2024Article
- Review
- Analgesic efficacy of sleep-promoting pharmacotherapy in patients with chronic pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Pain reports · 2023Review
- ApoE in Alzheimer's disease: pathophysiology and therapeutic strategies.Molecular neurodegeneration · 2022Review
- Melatonin biosynthesis pathways in nature and its production in engineered microorganisms.Synthetic and systems biotechnology · 2022Review
- The Dose and Duration-dependent Association between Melatonin Treatment and Overall Cognition in Alzheimer's Dementia: A Network Meta- Analysis of Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trials.Current neuropharmacology · 2022Article
- Melatonin's Benefits and Risks as a Therapy for Sleep Disturbances in the Elderly: Current Insights.Nature and science of sleep · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The current review aims to examine melatonin therapy for both sleep disturbances and cognitive function in dementia. We searched all randomized controlled trials published in Medline, Embase, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, the Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group’s Specialized Register, and Clinical Trials.gov. The grading of recommendations assessment, development and evaluation framework was used to assess the quality of evidence. Seven studies were included (n = 520). Treated participants showed prolonged total sleep time (TST) by 24.36 minutes (P = .02). Sleep efficacy (SE) was marginally improved (P = .07). This effect was stronger under a longer intervention period lasting more than 4 weeks (P = .02). Conversely, cognitive function did not change significantly. Additionally, there was no report of severe adverse events. Given the current studies, we conclude that melatonin therapy may be effective in improving SE and prolonging TST in patients with dementia; however, there is no evidence that this improvement impacts cognitive function.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.