Trial reportClinical rheumatology2021
Effects of melatonin supplementation on disease activity, oxidative stress, inflammatory, and metabolic parameters in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial.
Trial report in Clinical rheumatology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comprehensive Effects of Melatonin Supplementation on Cardiometabolic Risk Factors: A Systematic Review and Dose-Response Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of melatonin on advanced glycation end products, inflammation, and oxidative stress in peritoneal dialysis patients: a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Effects of melatonin supplementation on blood glycemic indices in adults: a GRADE-assessed systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Nutrition & metabolism · 2026Review
- Review
- The Pathophysiological Role of Mitochondrial Oxidative Stress in Rheumatic Diseases.Journal of inflammation research · 2025Review
- Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Melatonin in Secondary Traumatic Brain Injury.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Galangin: A Promising Flavonoid for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis-Mechanisms, Evidence, and Therapeutic Potential.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Sleep Disorders in Connective Tissue Diseases-Coexisting Diseases or Disease Components?Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Oxidative Stress Mediated Therapy in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Melatonin and bone-related diseases: an updated mechanistic overview of current evidence and future prospects.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2023Review
- Analysis of the Incidence and Risk Factors of Precocious Puberty in Girls during the COVID-19 Pandemic.International journal of endocrinology · 2022Article
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 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveConsidering the pathologic significance of inflammation and oxidative stress in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) as well as the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and hypolipidemic effects of melatonin, the current research is designed to investigate the effect of melatonin supplementation on disease activity, oxidative stress, inflammatory, and metabolic parameters in RA patients.
methodsIn this randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 64 RA cases were selected and randomly assigned into 2 groups to take 6 mg/day melatonin or placebo for 12 weeks. Before and after trial, serum malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), lipid profile, fasting blood sugar (FBS), and insulin levels were measured and disease activity was determined by disease activity score-28 (DAS-28).
resultsCompared to the baseline, melatonin significantly decreased DAS-28, ESR, MDA, and LDL-C by 50.5%, 59%, 97%, and 13%, respectively (P<0.001) and significantly increased TAC by 89% (P=0.013) and HDL-C by 22% (P<0.001). After treatment, considerable differences were only seen between the two groups in serum MDA (P<0.001) and LDL-C (P=0.007) concentrations, adjusted for baseline measures. Moreover, there were no significant changes in DAS-28, ESR, TAC, triglyceride, total cholesterol, HDL-C, FBS, and insulin levels compared to placebo group (P>0.05).
conclusionsAlthough melatonin supplementation had no beneficial effects on DAS-28, it could lower serum MDA and LDL-C levels. It seems that melatonin supplementation should not be used as a replace for routine drugs prescribed in RA treatment. Further investigations should be conducted to fully understand the effects of melatonin in RA. Key Points • Compared to baseline, melatonin significantly decreased DAS-28, ESR, MDA, and LDL-C and significantly increased TAC and HDL-C. • After treatment, considerable differences were only seen between melatonin and placebo groups in serum MDA and LDL-C concentrations. • After treatment, there were no significant changes in DAS-28, ESR, TAC, triglyceride, total cholesterol, HDL-C, FBS, and insulin levels compared to the placebo group.
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