Trial reportEuropean archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience2017
Neurocognitive performance, subjective well-being, and psychosocial functioning after benzodiazepine withdrawal in patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder: a randomized clinical trial of add-on melatonin versus placebo.
Trial report in European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 44 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Pharmacological interventions for benzodiazepine discontinuation in chronic benzodiazepine users.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- Long-term benzodiazepine use is associated with poorer cognitive function in schizophrenia: findings from the SALT-C cohort.BMC psychiatry · 2026Observational
- Nationwide trends in psychiatric prescription practices for drugs with putative cognitive adverse effects in schizophrenia spectrum and bipolar disorders from 2013 to 2022.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2026Article
- Benzodiazepine use in schizophrenia: A review of the literature.The mental health clinician · 2025Review
- Melatonin: A Review of the Evidence for Use in Hospital Settings.Pharmacology research & perspectives · 2025Review
- Effects of Approved Pharmacological Interventions for Insomnia on Mood Disorders: A Systematic Review.Clinical neuropsychiatry · 2024Review
- Validation and optimal cut-off score of the World Health Organization Well-being Index (WHO-5) as a screening tool for depression among patients with schizophrenia.BMC psychiatry · 2024Article
- Treatment of schizophrenia evaluated via the pharmacopsychometric triangle-An integrative approach with emphasis on well-being and functioning.Schizophrenia (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2023Article
- Non-Excitatory Amino Acids, Melatonin, and Free Radicals: Examining the Role in Stroke and Aging.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Evaluating the Effect of Melatonin on Positive and Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenic Patients: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Study.Iranian journal of psychiatry · 2023Article
- Clinical Outcome Assessment Instruments in Schizophrenia: A Scoping Literature Review with a Focus on the Potential of Patient-reported Outcomes.Innovations in clinical neuroscience · 2023Article
- Management of cognitive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia.The mental health clinician · 2022Article
- Review
- Melatonin's Benefits and Risks as a Therapy for Sleep Disturbances in the Elderly: Current Insights.Nature and science of sleep · 2022Review
- Factors influencing the outcome of integrated therapy approach in schizophrenia: A narrative review of the literature.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Review
- Therapeutic use of melatonin in schizophrenia: A systematic review.World journal of psychiatry · 2021Article
- Cannabidiol and Amisulpride Improve Cognition in Acute Schizophrenia in an Explorative, Double-Blind, Active-Controlled, Randomized Clinical Trial.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2021Article
- Family and Psychosocial Functioning in Bipolar Disorder: The Mediating Effects of Social Support, Resilience and Suicidal Ideation.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Article
- Effect of Pharmacological and Neurostimulation Interventions for Cognitive Domains in Patients with Bipolar Disorder: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Clinical epidemiology · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Chronic benzodiazepine use is common in patients with mental illness and is associated with cognitive impairment. It is unclear whether benzodiazepine-induced cognitive impairment is reversible. Amelioration of cognitive dysfunction may be facilitated during benzodiazepine tapering by add-on melatonin due to its anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties. We examined how melatonin and benzodiazepine withdrawal affect cognition, subjective well-being, and psychosocial functioning. Eighty patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder were randomized to add-on treatment once daily with either prolonged-release melatonin or placebo in a 24-week, double-blind clinical trial. All participants gradually tapered usual benzodiazepine dosage in a closely monitored treatment setting. We used the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS) to assess neurocognitive performance with additional assessments of subjective well-being and psychosocial functioning. BACS composite and subscale scores (except motor speed) significantly improved in parallel with benzodiazepine dose reduction, but there was no additional effect of melatonin. Cognitive performance was still markedly impaired post-tapering compared with normative data. Neither benzodiazepine withdrawal nor treatment group affected subjective well-being or psychosocial functioning. In conclusion, add-on melatonin does not seem to affect cognition, well-being, or psychosocial functioning in patients with severe mental illness. The observed improvement in cognitive performance could not be distinguished from retest effects, which may in turn have been facilitated by the benzodiazepine tapering.
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