Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36588283›Full record

Trial reportBrain and behavior2023

Effect of add-on melatonin on seizure outcomes and quality of sleep in epilepsy with idiopathic generalized tonic-clonic seizures alone in adult patients: Cross-sectional, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

Mehdi Maghbooli, Somayeh Alyan NajafAbadi, Ghazal MalekMahmoudi, Mohammad Hadi Molseghi

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Brain and behavior, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
14citing papers in PubMed
4.7field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

14 citing papers in PubMed, 21 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Protective Effect of Melatonin Against Bisphenol A Toxicity.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025
    Review
  7. Melatonin supplementation: new insights into health and disease.Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung · 2025
    Review
  8. Review
  9. The Oxidative Stress in Epilepsy-Focus on Melatonin.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024
    Review
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Review
  14. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Mehdi MaghbooliDepartment of Neurology, Vali-e-Asr Hospital, School of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.ORCID 0000-0003-0482-9062
Somayeh Alyan NajafAbadiDepartment of Neurology, Vali-e-Asr Hospital, School of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.
Ghazal MalekMahmoudiDepartment of Neurology, Vali-e-Asr Hospital, School of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.ORCID 0000-0002-1191-4102
Mohammad Hadi MolseghiAyatollah Mousavi Hospital, School of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.ORCID 0000-0001-6471-7324
Zanjan University of Medical Sciences · IR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEffective treatment of epilepsy is a major challenge in the field of neurology. Studies have suggested that melatonin can work in epilepsy with a good safety profile.

objectivesThis study was performed to determine the effectiveness of melatonin in seizure outcomes, as well as the quality of sleep in patients with generalized epilepsy.

methodsIn this cross-over clinical trial study, 60 patients with epilepsy with idiopathic generalized tonic-clonic seizures alone (EGTCS) and under valproic acid treatment received either melatonin or placebo with a washout period of 2 weeks intermittently. Outcome variables included a reduction in the severity and frequency of epilepsy besides improvement in electroencephalogram (EEG) abnormalities and sleep quality.

resultsBy adding melatonin, a decrease in the mean severity score of epilepsy (according to the Chalfont questionnaire) was 32.33 ± 9.24, while it was 5.58 ± 14.28 in treatment with placebo (p = .002). Evaluation of the number of attacks and EEG results did not disclose any therapeutic efficacy in treatment with melatonin versus placebo. The quality of sleep improved in 40% (first round) and 53.4% (second round) of subjects who received melatonin (p < .001).

conclusionsConsidering that the addition of melatonin to routine anti-seizure treatment was effective in reducing the severity of epilepsy and improving sleep quality, it seems that melatonin can be useful as an adjunct therapy for EGTCS in well-defined circumstances.

Indexed as

EpilepsyMelatoninAdultAnticonvulsantsCross-Sectional StudiesHumansSeizuresSleep QualityAnticonvulsantsMelatoninanti-seizure medicationgeneralized epilepsymelatonin

Identifiers

PMID36588283
PMCPMC9927842
OpenAlexW4313387254

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

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.